


The Last Hope - A Star Wars Rewrite (Book 1)

by Vanemis



Series: A Star Wars Sequel Rewrite [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon compliant up to the OT but not afterwards, Canon-Typical Violence, Complete rewrite of the sequel trilogy, Force-Sensitive Armitage Hux, Force-Sensitive Finn (Star Wars), Fusion of Star Wars Legends and Disney Canon, References to OT PT and TCW, Trans Male Character, Vague Kylux, Vague Stormpilot, star wars legends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:40:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 74,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25954621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanemis/pseuds/Vanemis
Summary: When Finn fearfully finds out he can use the Force, it's a race between the Light and the Dark to secure his abilities....
Series: A Star Wars Sequel Rewrite [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883743
Comments: 10
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Brace yourselves for a complete rewrite of the entire sequel trilogy and more. Forget canon and dive into a whole new world disbalanced by the Dark Side, where Finn is the main character and a Force Sensitive. Follow Finn, Rey and Kylo Ren into a warring galaxy as the Light, the Dark, and the ruthless First Order are pitted against one another by an unknown terror.
> 
> This is the first novel (of currently four completed books) in a long saga which will conclude and wrap up as many storylines as possible. While parts of canon have been borrowed, don't expect the stories to follow the same paths as the films. Legends have greatly been used as well but vast knowledge isn't needed to enjoy this. There are also no ships or sexual content in these stories. Anything like that will be posted separately.
> 
> Tags will be kept to a minimum for a spoiler-free experience but any violence is the same as you might expect from usual SW sources. I will try to tag each chapter in the notes if necessary.

**STAR WARS**

**Episode VII – The Last Hope**

From the ashes of the EMPIRE, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen and taken control. Under the ruthless hand of a masked SITH,

the galaxy has fallen in darkness again. 

Desperate to end the cold war between the First Order and the NEW REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa commands a brave and rebellious RESISTANCE

and sends her best pilot to retrieve a secretive message that could change the tide of the war. 

Aware of this mission, the Sith plans to intercept this pilot on the sand planet of Jakku by any means necessary.... 

**Chapter 1**

The simulations of the First Order had done their best to prepare troopers for combat but the stench of burning corpses and the gritty dust blasted into the air by sudden explosions weren’t part of the training. There was only so much that could be taught onboard the safety of an orbiting Destroyer, surrounded by medics on standby and the constant option to pause and breathe. 

On the sand-covered planet of Jakku, pausing was not an option. There was no break, no slamming the floor to indicate yielding, and no officer to yell in his face to get back up. Nothing in the galaxy, in any simulation, could have prepared FN-2187 for the reality of a battlefield. 

Screams were cut short to his left, coming both from his own allies and the desperate yet hopeless villagers of this once peaceful commute. His armour felt too heavy and restricting, and the filtered air he gulped in couldn’t reach his lungs quickly enough. He wasn’t about to be reckless and seek shelter, or dare to retreat, but he broke his training and hesitated. 

Beside him, a fellow trooper was shot in the head. The helmet was cracked and fizzling by the time they hit the ground, and FN-2187 did not attempt to help them. It was too late. They were winning despite the casualties, of course they were winning. The First Order was the ultimate force of destruction. A small band of old rebels cowering in the dunes wouldn’t halt the grand machine of war. But it came at a price and FN-2187 did not want to be the next corpse on the ground. 

He shoved himself up against a wall and curled up as the dusty stone crumbled and fell against his armour. A trooper to his right was struck by the shrapnel of a grenade and FN-2187 hurried to put pressure on the worst of the wounds. There were too many to count. The trooper’s weak hand reached out for help but FN-2187 wasn’t a medic, and time was not on their side. The trooper’s bloody fingers left a trail down his helmet and chest-plate before slumping dead in FN-2187's arms. He stopped trying to hold in the gushing blood and shuffled back against the cover of the wall. 

No one was paying attention to him, he realised after a hurried glance towards the advancing troops. They were all distracted with their own enemies. Among them was the chrome-plated Captain Phasma, who marched into the fire without fear and gunned down the last of the rebels. FN-2187 watched in awe as she stood tall above the other troopers and gathered them to search through the houses. 

She caught his gaze and FN-2187 hurried to his feet to join a group of troopers scouring the area for more rebels. He barely heard the engine of a ship fire up but the lights from its thrusters shone like the blue eyes of a creature in the night, filtering through the smoke and dust. When he looked closer, he recognised it as an X-Wing and reached to the nearest trooper to slap their shoulder. 

Aggravated by the lack of respect, the trooper almost returned the slap but turned to see the ship preparing to launch. 

“Fire on that X-Wing. Don’t let it get away!” 

FN-2187 raised his blaster for the first time that night and shot at the ship. It sparked and creaked under the shots, and soon smoke crawled from its turret. A blast fired from the ship, striking the trooper beside FN-2187 but he was quick to disable it completely, forcing the pilot to climb out of its cockpit and fire at him while running to cover. Before FN-2187 could find a tall enough sand dune to hide behind and return the blasts, a lucky shot struck him in his left forearm. 

It burned like no pain he’d ever experienced before and the shock sent him down onto the sand, dropping his blaster to cradle the wound. His mind was quickly overrun with fear and pain but he managed to tear the melting armguard off, and watched the lingering heat curl the plastoid on itself. The pain wasn’t as bad as the shock made it out to be but his skin had been singed and burned. 

The pilot wasn’t done with him yet, though. FN-2187 didn’t grow up with the luxury of ever feeling safe but he’d thought the rebel would’ve chosen the time to escape and not finish the job. Perhaps he was stupid enough to return to the smouldering village. Either way, his path took him straight over the dune and he stood with his blaster aimed for a kill shot above FN-2187. He looked just as desperate and scared as him, though his own expression was hidden behind his clunky helmet. 

FN-2187 was desperate. He didn’t want to die. Not for the First Order, not to some rebel scum, and certainly not on an ugly, backwater planet with no sense of civilisation built on its treacherous land. 

He reached out to stop the pilot, perhaps plead for his life if the words ever dislodged themselves from his throat. Anything to be left alive and alone. There were dozens of thoughts and emotions flying through his head, tangling and swirling like they were caught in a storm, but right in the centre of it, he felt power. He moved his arm to the side and channelled the power he felt brewing uncontrollably. 

The pilot was sent flying in the air with a sudden cry and landed with a thud beside his smoking ship, right in the path of the one person FN-2187 had kept a distance from the whole night. He quickly cowered further behind the dune and crawled towards the village before he could be spotted and linked to the mysterious man dropping from the sky. 

The troopers had gathered what little remained of the villagers in the centre, though not all of them were rebels. Captain Phasma looked impeccable, without a single scratch to her shining armour. She was the symbol of the First Order, a menace to the Resistance and the most fearsome trooper in the entire fleet. FN-2187 joined the firing squad, unable to hold his blaster without his hands shaking. 

Even though his heart was hammering deafeningly in his ears, he heard heavy footsteps behind him and felt his blood turn to ice as a prisoner was dragged forward from the group and dropped at the feet of Lord Ren. Just the presence of the Sith weighed on FN-2187, like he was being dragged beneath dark waters by something unseen. 

“The data drive. What is on it?” Lord Ren asked behind a heavy black helmet that distorted his voice. He always wore it, inspiring an armada of questions towards his unknown appearance. It was not mocked but feared, cruel and cold and imposing. He was dressed in long black robes, layered in length and texture, with a large hood that was pulled over his helmet and draped across his broad shoulders. Although he towered like an immovable black wall above everyone else, FN-2187 had seen him fight. Lord Ren was a spectre, a blur you saw before you died. 

“You’re fighting for the wrong side,” the rebel replied with a jut of his chin. He was old and yet he stood in front of Ren without fear. “Come back to the Light.” 

“There is nothing there for me.” 

“You’re wrong. I remember when you were a child, you were so kind.” 

Lord Ren scoffed. Or laughed. It sounded mocking, either way. “You know nothing about me. The drive, tell me now and I may spare your life.” 

“I have given my life to the Resistance. I will not fail them now, even if it kills me.” 

“So be it.” 

The saber in Lord Ren’s hand ignited with two harsh crackles as the main blade erupted first, followed by two smaller vents on either side. With a wide arch, the unstable energy tore through the rebel and he fell, joining the many bodies as a couple troopers dragged him away. 

Lord Ren turned to the side and gestured for the resistance pilot to be brought forward. In the light of the fire, FN-2187 saw the rebel’s young bloody face and wondered why Lord Ren had not simply killed him already. He watched him being shoved to his knees with a sick feeling twisting in his stomach, and clutched his blaster tighter so he could ignore the strange sensation in his palm. 

The pilot was drenched in sweat, shivering despite the flames, but he looked up at Lord Ren’s blacked-out visor with a cocky grin. He had to be injured with the way he held his wrist delicately. 

“Let me guess,” he began with a lot more energy in his voice than FN-2187 had seen from captured rebels, “You’ve got a face only a mother could love. What are you, a Gungan? Or are you just shy? I had a cousin whose face was just bright red and you could tell she-” 

The pilot’s head whipped to the side without Lord Ren ever touching him. He spit blood into the sand and laughed it off. 

“Ow. What’s the matter? Don’t like getting your hands dirty?” 

As if to prove the rebel wrong, Lord Ren crouched down smoothly, grabbed a handful of his black hair and yanked his head up straight. 

“You’ve seen the data drive, haven’t you? You were going to bring it to the Resistance,” Lord Ren said calmly. “Where is it?” 

The pilot frowned. “Whoa, that mask is crap! I can barely hear a word you’re saying. Do you have a cold? Maybe you should go lie down. Have a rest.” 

“You’ll tell me. One way or another.” Ren let go and stood back up in one swift motion, nodding at his troopers. 

A blaster rifle smacked into the pilot’s head and knocked him to the ground, not quite unconscious but disorientated enough to make carrying him less of a challenge. Lord Ren strode away with the pilot in tow to his personal ship, a large command Upsilon shuttle with two long, folded black wings that stood upright when parked. As it fired up and set off, the wings unfurled and straightened to their full length and tore through the night sky, leaving Captain Phasma to give the inevitable order. 

“We won’t be needing any prisoners,” she stated clearly and without remorse. “Fire.” 

FN-2187 raised his rifle alongside his fellow men but as they shot down the cowering villagers, he found himself unable to pull the trigger. 

Already deep in the sand dunes, a small round droid was struggling to navigate the dangerous desert alone. Inside its small storage compartment was a device from an era long gone, and yet it existed and it offered a chance for something greater than anything the galaxy had ever encountered before. 

* * *

FN-2187 waited until the transport had been cleared and the hangar emptied of all returning troopers, before he sat down on the grates and tore off his blood-stained helmet. Immediately, the relief of cold air cooled the sweat on his dark skin. The vents weren’t very good at circulating air, something he’d hoped they’d fix in the future. He stared down at his hands and held them together, rubbing his gloved thumb over the hand he’d used to throw the pilot aside. 

Had that truly been him? 

With Lord Ren nearby, it had to have been him instead. After all, the pilot had dropped right before him. There was nothing special about FN-2187, he wasn’t special. If there was, surely he would’ve known by now. He decided to chalk it up to convenient timing and to blame Ren, not that he’d ever dare mention the incident in his report. 

“You know Phasma will have you sent to reconditioning,” a fellow trooper suddenly said by the ramp. He was only there to prep the ship for the next flight but FN-2187 startled and shuffled back as if Phasma herself was stood there. 

FN-2187 quickly shoved his helmet back on, cringing at the warmth and dampness of the plastoid seal around his neck. 

“I heard you guys lost some men. I’m sorry.” 

“Uh, yeah...” FN-2187 replied slowly. “I should go.” He moved to walk down the ramp and paused just beside the trooper. “You won’t tell Phasma that I-” He tapped the jaw of his helmet. 

The trooper shook his head and smiled, though it was hidden behind his own helmet. “No. The little guys like us have got to stick together, right?” 

“Right. Thanks.” 

“First battle’s always the worst, kid. It doesn’t get better, but you’ll learn to cope with time.” The trooper nodded towards the ship. “I better get on with this, before Phasma has my head on a spike.” 

FN-2187 took one last look at the trooper and felt his heart drop. He didn’t want to end up like him, accepting death so easily. He wondered how any of the older troopers coped, but then again, the reconditioning existed for a reason. Most of them probably didn’t even remember their first battles, not if Phasma had a hand in it. FN-2187 had always thought it was cruel to reset the troopers, like faulty machines, but perhaps it was mercy. He could still hear the distant gunfire as if it were happening down the hall, but there was nothing. 

He hurried to submit his blaster and armour before any of the officers noticed he’d spent non-allocated time to himself. Relieved to find just a handful of troopers and no officers in the armoury, FN-2187 sat down further away from the gathered men and women to clean the plastoid and fill in his form. There wasn’t much to say beside the sterile description of the fight and to confirm he’d returned his equipment. He’d seen what the higher-ranked troopers had to write down and he was more than grateful that his lowly job only involved a couple lines. He wasn’t entirely sure why someone cared enough to have every fighter submit reports but it gave him time to sit in peace and breathe without his helmet on. 

But it wasn’t peaceful for long. The troopers still lingering about were bragging about their kills, describing in graphic detail how they’d laid waste to whatever poor soul was on the receiving end of their blaster. 

It turned FN-2187's stomach. 

That was their way of coping, it seemed. Not once did they mention the fallen soldiers. It was like they’d been forgotten entirely. 

He couldn’t handle it anymore. His index finger stabbed down on the submit button of the armoury’s datapad and he rushed out of the room before he made a scene. 

* * *

There had been many times where Poe had been captured. He’d been beaten, tased, water-boarded, and stabbed by countless enemies who’d sought information on the Resistance. And he’d never once given them what they wanted. He’d rather die than let anyone win over him. 

He’d woken up strapped to an upright slab of metal, his forearms and ankles locked down to the side. His wrist throbbed in pain from landing on it badly and a migraine pounded at his skull, but he watched the untouched door with an intense clarity. The First Order could do whatever they wanted to him, Poe was never going to tell them anything valuable. 

Because he didn’t know anything. 

The information, encrypted on a small device barely the size of his thumb, had been relayed across the stars by dozens of messengers and had finally been intercepted by the enemy on Jakku. None of them knew what was on it, except that it came from Fulcrum. An old codename of an informant behind enemy lines. A spy. Poe’s mission had been to pass it directly into General Organa’s hands and nothing more. 

Now he wasn’t entirely sure she’d ever receive it. His droid was loyal and brave, just like Poe, but Jakku was a planet full of desperate scavengers and scrap-traders. A shiny Astromec was bound to catch someone’s eye, that’s if the sands didn’t destroy the little ball before it reached civilisation. The only comfort he found in the dreary situation was that the device was useless to anyone without the proper decoding system. 

But it was overshadowed with the warning that had come with it. 

Poe wasn’t sure if it was a case of too many messengers scrambling up the warning into something grander than reality but that was something for the General to decide. It spoke of an ancient darkness, a threat from the Dark Side. Most wouldn’t know much about that but Poe did, and so did General Organa. It made bringing it to her so much more important, but instead he’d gotten himself caught. 

The door hissed open. 

“Finally,” Poe groaned, “I was wondering how long you’d keep me waiting here. I’m a busy guy, I’ve got things to do.” 

“You’re not going anywhere,” Lord Ren replied coolly, shutting the door behind him without touching it. An old IT-O droid hovered by his shoulder. 

“You still have those things around? I thought the First Order was meant to be advanced.” Poe raised a brow as it floated into the corner of the room. “Looks like it’s about to fall apart.” 

“So do you. I can sense your fear.” Lord Ren approached slowly and walked around Poe, causing the pilot to twist his head to follow him. “You’re scared you’ll die here, cold and alone. I promise you, you will not be alone.” 

A cold gloved hand suddenly grabbed Poe’s jaw and forced him still. 

“I will be there to kill you myself.” 

Poe tried to shrug. “That’s not very reassuring. Don’t you have more... attractive executioners? I feel like I’m talking to a droid with that voice you’ve got. At least let me look at something nice.” 

Lord Ren shockingly laughed. The noise vibrated strangely through the distorter and sent shivers down Poe’s spine. 

“I see why Organa favours you so much. Maybe once I’m done here, I’ll send you back to her. Perhaps just your head.” The grip on his jaw loosened but Ren only leaned closer, forcing Poe to strain his head to the side. He swallowed nervously. 

“I can’t tell if you’re trying to intimidate me or make me feel all warm inside. I’ll be honest, most times I’ve woken up tied down, it didn’t involve this much clothing-” Poe choked on his words as his head was suddenly stabbed with a sharp, icy pain. He gulped in air as his eyes teared up and his hands balled into fists. 

“The device. What did it say?” 

Poe gritted his teeth and shook his head. “I don’t know. No one does.” 

“So it seems.” Ren retracted the pain and Poe slumped back against the steel. “No one seems to know and yet you’ve all gone through so much effort to protect it. Why? Why is this drive so important that it must be passed so secretly? Your General is so eager to have it. Maybe she knows.” 

“I don’t know, maybe you’ve built some new super weapon for us to blow up. I’m just a pilot, I do my job and I don’t ask questions.” 

The stabbing pain returned but not as intense this time. Poe screwed his eyes shut against it but whatever Ren was doing, it was like holding onto ice for too long. It burned at his skull, his brain, his mind. Like a dense, freezing cold fog had seeped inside and clenched onto every single nerve, but it was spreading. 

“You’ve hidden it somewhere. Show me.” 

Like a trap snapping shut, the fog wrapped itself around Poe’s mind and seeped into each and every cell. His screams were deafening, though he couldn’t hear himself. His pain was intolerable, though his body felt distanced from his mind entirely. Poe was being torn apart, his mind forced to make space as Ren stormed through his thoughts and memories. He saw it all, flashing up like a holovid as Ren scoured every inch. And then he found it. 

Lord Ren didn’t bother shutting the door to the interrogation room. The pilot was slumped forward and he wasn’t going anywhere by himself. He turned to his eagerly awaiting audience. 

“He gave it to a droid for safe-guarding. A BB-8 unit, white and orange,” Ren announced as he adjusted his gloves and cracked his stiff knuckles. He rarely saw General Armitage Hux smile but there was a glint of joy in his green eyes. 

Hux was a narrow but tall young man, pale from a life onboard starships and with fiery-red hair neatly gelled back beneath a sharp cap. He was always impeccably dressed in a slick black uniform with his rank printed in silver onto the cuffs of his long, heavy coat that swooped elegantly down to his ankles. Anyone else would’ve drowned in the dark wool but Hux wore it to appear bulkier and hide how slender he was. 

“And this supposedly important information?” Hux asked impatiently. 

“He hasn’t seen it. The device is encrypted.” 

“We have an entire galaxy’s worth of decoders in our system. My men will make short work of it. I’ll send troops planet-side immediately for retrieval.” 

Ren held up his hand before Hux grew too zealous. “I’ll spare one of my Knights.” 

Hux scoffed and raised a brow. As always, he had some disapproval towards Ren’s plan. 

“For a small droid? How dangerous do you expect it is?” 

“Hardly but the Resistance will come for it if they do not hear from their precious pilot. Perhaps we will have an opportunity to catch both.” 

“Why not go yourself? Surely you’re not tired from that little firefight,” Hux mocked, his words too full of venomous mirth for Ren’s liking. 

Ren clenched his fist before he was too tempted to crush Hux’s scrawny neck. “And allow you to report to the Supreme Leader without me? I think not. Who knows what you would say to him without my presence?” 

The General was not foolish enough to think Ren’s flaring temper was at bay but he enjoyed taunting the faceless Sith to no end. There would be too much risk for Ren if he were to lash out beyond biting words. 

“Do you not trust me, Ren?” He smirked as if he could see the frown through the mask. “Fine, send your Knight if you must, but they will not act on their own. Just because the Supreme Leader allows you to command over my men does not mean your Knights have the same authority.” 

“My Knights could replace your men a dozen times. Perhaps I’ll mention it to him in my report.” 

“You’ve only got six of them. I’d be careful not to throw them around like disposable soldiers. After all, I have hundreds of thousands of elite troopers. Your Knights can’t seem to be replaced quite so easily.” 

Ren suddenly lashed out and yanked the lapel of the General’s overcoat, tugging him a couple stumbling steps closer. Hux reached for the blaster at his hip, where it was concealed by the long woollen skirt of his coat. 

“Is that a threat, General?” 

“Call it a wake-up call, Ren.” Hux had a calm, almost bored expression but his eyes held a warning. “I suggest you let me go and attend to your Knights.” 

Reluctantly, and with a huff, Ren shoved Hux back and dropped his hand. As he turned his back, the General merely re-holstered his blaster and smoothed out his coat. They both knew neither could tear each other’s throats out without severe consequences but it was a line both greatly enjoyed toying, only for Hux to emerge victorious more often than not. 

Ren was a relentless force of chaos, one without a proper leash to tame him. Hux was more than happy to remind him of his place. The Order came first and it would outlive the Sith. 

* * *

For a ship the size of the _Finalizer_ , a factory-fresh Resurgent-class flagship no less, everything had to run smoothly and on time. Everyone onboard knew where to be and when, and wrecking the precious balance of that order merited punishment. 

FN-2187 knew exactly what sort of trouble he would land himself in if he was caught walking the halls without proper authorisation. And without his armour of all things. What he was _supposed_ to be doing was sleeping off his assigned six hours of rest, an hour longer than normal due to his job role switching from glorified janitor to soldier without him ever agreeing to it. 

He ducked out of the way of approaching officers and waited until their boots stopped echoing on the polished floor. Phasma would never let him sleep again if she were to catch him. But he couldn’t sleep and he couldn’t lie there in the narrow dorm bed beside twenty other troopers any longer. He wasn’t risking it all for a breath of fresh air or the quiet peace away from the snoring and nightmare-induced fits of the other men. 

No, he knew that staying was going to kill him. 

Either on the battlefield or at the hands of Lord Ren or Captain Phasma. FN-2187 wasn’t stupid enough to think he was special like Ren, of course not, but there was an undeniable understanding that something had changed in him. He’d always been able to fulfil his duties without question but he couldn’t pull his trigger, and he couldn’t stand one second longer onboard a ship full of sadistic and cruel officers. If he was being entirely honest with himself, which would be one of many firsts during this worsening day, the most awful part was that he now knew first-hand how replaceable and forgettable he was. 

There had not been a moment of silence in the dorms for the fallen troops. The empty beds had been filled with new troopers just before lights-out, all young men who would soon taste their first blood and know what the dying cries of civilians sounded like. 

Phasma would absolutely kill him for sneaking into the armoury down the hall from the dorms and taking his equipment back. Well, he would’ve paid a heavy price for that alone but taking a blaster was going to be what made her pull her trigger without remorse. He took a deep breath and shoved his helmet on, blinking as the visor started pulling up its usual schematics and readings. She’d find out soon enough so FN-2187 had to hurry. 

To say that the _Finalizer_ was an enormous ship would be an understatement. She was gargantuan, spanning so far and wide by nearly three kilometres in length, that FN-2187 could be lost in her bright corridors and blast-resistant rooms for weeks. He only knew a small sector of it; the hangars on the starboard side, the canteen, the training facilities, the dorms, and the few sections he’d been made to clean before they put a rifle in his hands. 

He’d devised a plan while he’d been staring at the bunk above his cot. If he was going to get anywhere, he needed to steal something with speed. The only dent in his brilliant plan was that he had zero clue how to fly. If the First Order wanted pilots, they’d be trained, but FN-2187 had never once sat down in the pilot seat of any vehicle. He wouldn’t have any idea of how to switch on the engine of a speeder, let alone any of the technological marvels that were parked in the hangar bays. 

Just as he considered threatening one of the many pilots bound to be heading out on patrol, something nagged at the back of his head. He’d already met a pilot. 

FN-2187 was glad he’d never been told to clean the interrogation rooms. No one wanted that job, especially with how messy some of the officers liked to be. And no one wanted to stand guard over the prisoners and yet two troopers were idling by the only used cell. 

He took a deep, filtered breath and headed right for them, raising his hand to weakly wave at them. 

“Hey guys, I’m gonna need to get in there. Lord Ren’s asked to have the prisoner brought to his quarters.” 

The troopers exchanged a glance. 

“Nobody told us that.” 

FN-2187 shrugged. “You know what Ren’s like, it’s best to just nod and do what he says. I don’t ask questions. We all saw what happened to TF-4736 last week, I don’t want to be the next guy to lose his head.” 

Both troopers slackened their posture then, buying up what he said. “I can’t believe he did that. General Hux should’ve done something.” 

“You’re right but what can we do?” He nudged his head towards the door. “Like I said, though, don’t want to lose my head so I better hurry.” 

“Alright. At least I’m not the one dealing with him.” 

The trooper on the right reached for the keypad beside the door and FN-2187 held his breath until he heard the lock disengage. The door hissed open and he realised that maybe this plan wasn’t going to work. The pilot was barely conscious, wearily lifting his head as FN-2187 unlocked the braces. He would’ve fallen forward onto his face if FN-2187 hadn’t caught him in time, all the air knocked out of him under the pilot’s weight. 

“Come on, move,” he urged quietly, looping one limp arm over his shoulders. “One foot in front of the other.” 

Both troopers watched him, one even chuckled. “You want some help carrying him up to Ren?” 

FN-2187 glanced over his shoulder. “No, no, I got it.” 

It would’ve been easier to carry a corpse. At least then, he wouldn’t have to worry about making sure the pilot didn’t stumble and hurt himself further. 

“You’re heavier than you look, man.” He barely got a mumbled reply. “This isn’t gonna work. Hold on.” 

Either this storage closet was going to be empty or it wasn’t. FN-2187 had had plenty of awkward moments catching fraternising officers and troopers in the heat of passion when all he’d wanted was to grab an extra broom. Thankfully, it was empty and he unceremoniously shoved the pilot inside before closing the door and flicking on the light on his helmet. 

“What is this?” The pilot asked with a wince, suddenly a lot more alert as if he’d been faking most of his weakness. “Who are you?” 

“Doesn’t matter who I am,” FN-2187 replied hurriedly, yanking off his helmet and positioning the light in his arms so he wasn’t blinding the pilot in the face. “You want to get out of here, right?” 

“I’m not spending a second longer in that cell.” 

“Good. I feel the same way. About the ship, not the cells. I’ve never been down there before today.” FN-2187 paused and caught his breath. He was babbling nervously. “Look, I can get you to the nearest hangar bay but you’ll have to fly us out.” 

“Us?” 

“Us,” FN-2187 confirmed with a single heavy nod. “You can fly, right?” 

The pilot nodded eagerly and straightened up, as much as physically possible in the sorry state he was in. 

“I can fly anything.” 

“Good, now you’re going to be my prisoner.” FN-2187 quickly raised one palm in defence. “Just until we get a ship. No one’s gonna bat an eye at us that way.” He shoved the helmet back on, turned off the light and peeked out into the hallway. “All clear. Let’s go.” 

The hangar was quiet this late into the night shift, only occupied by patrolling troopers and flight crews launching off. FN-2187 kept a safe distance behind the pilot, his blaster in both hands as they walked towards the docking stations. 

“Just stay calm. Stay. Calm,” FN-2187 whispered, barely audible over the sound of a Tie Fighter engine powering up. 

“I am calm,” the pilot replied, keeping his eyes glued forward. People were beginning to look. 

“I’m talking to myself.” 

That wasn’t reassuring in the slightest. As soon as a passing crew had gone by, FN-2187 nudged the pilot towards a docked Tie Fighter. 

“Can you fly that?” 

“I don’t know yet. I hope so.” 

FN-2187 frowned beneath his helmet even as they moved out of sight and started making their way up to the small ship. 

“But you said-” 

“X-Wings, Y-Wings, cruisers. I’m a fighter pilot for the Resistance. Last I checked, we don’t have Tie Fighters in our arsenal. Maybe something’s changed since I’ve been locked down to a table by some weird guy in a mask.” 

The pilot checked the coast was clear before opening up the hatch and crawling inside through the top, down to the darkened controls. FN-2187 climbed in after him, peeking over the top of the gunner seat to watch him press random buttons. 

“So, is there any hope?” 

Just as FN-2187 asked that, the console lit up and beeped. The panels around the gunner’s seat flickered on as well, readings flashing down the side as it booted up. 

“Have a little faith in me, kid.” The pilot shook his sweat-dampened hair out of his eyes and grinned. “Now, let’s get this baby up in the air.” 

The Tie Fighter lifted up effortlessly under the rebel’s skilled hands but as it started to pull away, the officers in the launch control room began to notice. 

“Fighter X-465, you are not authorised for take-off. I repeat, you are not authorised for take-off. Switch off your engines immediately or we will use force.” 

The message echoed throughout the hangar and played out of the internal systems. FN-2187 and the pilot exchanged a look that could be understand even through the dark visor. Suddenly, everyone around them turned to watch and those with blasters raised them. 

“What are you waiting for? Just go!” 

“Fighter X-465, switch off your engines. This is your last warning.” 

“Please don’t blow up,” the pilot alarmingly prayed as he pushed at the levers beside him. 

The ship snapped out of the hangar at a crushing speed, forcing FN-2187 to buckle up in his seat and try to figure out the intricate controls. 

“We’ll need to shoot their cannons before we make our escape,” the pilot warned as he flew close to the hull. “If we don’t, we’ll be in pieces before we reach the surface.” 

“Surface? You mean Jakku? No, no, no way are we going down there. We need to run now. This thing can jump, right?” 

“We have to, there’s no choice. I’ve got to get my droid back. It’s a BB-8 unit, white and orange. It’s one of a kind.” 

FN-2187 ripped off his helmet and tossed it by his feet. He was about to look up over his shoulder when he noticed the air space wasn’t theirs alone anymore. 

“Look, I get that people have attachments to... things. Droids, whatever. But I can get you a new one! We’ve got incoming Fighters too. How do I even use this thing?” 

“You ever use a blaster?” 

“No, in all my life as a stormtrooper, I’ve never once used a blaster. Do you hear yourself? Of course, I have!” 

The rebel rolled his eyes. “Alright, kriff. Look, it’s the same premise. The triggers on the side connect to the turret and cannons below you. Wait until the enemy’s caught on your screen and pull the triggers.” 

FN-2187 didn’t get to ask for clearer instructions or how the rebel knew what sort of weapons he had on hand. Just as he wanted to, a Fighter lined up perfectly in his sights and FN-2187 squeezed the triggers before it could slip away. He barely saw the green bolt shoot out before the viewport of the Fighter was smashed and the ship was consumed by flames. 

Unable to control himself, he hollered out. “Did you see that?” 

“Yeah, I saw. Nice shot. Keep it up and we may just make it out alive.” 

It wasn’t much comfort but it was enough to hold FN-2187's spirits up a bit longer. Right until he saw the cannons on the sides of the _Finalizer_ begin to turn and charge up. 

“They’re going to shoot us,” he warned, taking down another Fighter as it bleeped on his screen. 

“Not if we shoot them first. Aim for the cannons, use the missiles if you can.” 

The rush of the fight was making FN-2187 light-headed but he focused and waited until he had the perfect shot. The cannon combusted and broke apart, but the victory was short-lived with the realisation that the _Finalizer_ was equipped with hundreds of turbolasers and ion cannons. 

“We can’t keep doing this!” 

Their Tie Fighter was dancing between the cannons, weaving in and out of range as the pilot tried to get the lower ones. 

“Then we aim for Jakku. Can’t promise they won’t blow us out of the sky.” 

Another cannon went up in flames. The pilot glanced over his shoulder but couldn’t see FN-2187 from the awkward angle. 

“Hey, I didn’t ask what to call you. I’m Poe. Poe Dameron.” 

FN-2187 waited a beat before answering, laser-focused on destroying the closest cannon on the ship’s underside. At least, the one that could reach them from that angle. 

“Nice to meet you, Poe. I’m FN-2187.” 

Poe stuttered. “What? That’s not a name!” 

“It’s the only name I’ve ever known. It’s what they gave me.” 

“FN, huh? FN... Finn? Is that alright? Can I call you Finn?” 

“Yeah... Yeah, I like that!” 

FN- _Finn's_ excitement was short lived as the planet only grew closer and the cannons had a clearer shot. It was inevitable at that range and it struck the Tie Fighter in its left wing, spinning it uncontrollably through the planet’s atmosphere. 

“It’s not gonna be a nice landing. Brace yourself!” 

The shrinking sight of the _Finalizer_ and the rapidly approaching orange surface of Jakku were the last thing Finn saw before the Tie Fighter came crashing down into the sands. 


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter 2 **

Something rough and uncaring was tugging at Finn’s arm and he groaned in annoyance, batting away the slippery hand caught around his wrist. 

“Get up!” A muffled voice he barely recognised yelled over sparks and creaking metal; and for a moment, Finn panicked, suddenly overtaken by the fear  that it had all been a dream and he was still in the middle of the assault. He could taste the same stale, acrid air of  Jakku and felt the speckles of coarse sand on his cheek.

“Finn, get up!”

Finn’s eyes shot open and he saw Poe’s bloody face, and the expanse of orange dunes behind him, and relief flooded him instantly. A wire sparked beside Poe and he flinched, tightening his grip. Before Finn could ask anything, he was being tugged forward and out of the gunner’s seat. He convinced his legs to move themselves and after grunting and straining, he fell back on the sand and tried to ignore how dry his mouth was under the heat of the blazing sun.

They’d made it. They were alive.

Finn would’ve cheered in excitement if he wasn’t so drained. Footsteps stumbled at his head, casting a long shadow over him, and he glanced up at Poe scanning the horizon with a hand over his brow.  The wreck of the Tie Fighter gave a long groan as a fire erupted in the pilot’s seat. His helmet! Finn sprang to his feet and rushed back, yanking the helmet free before the flames grew. The smoke made him cough but at least he’d saved it. When he looked back, the pilot gave him an odd look.

“I thought you were a defector. Why risk yourself for that junk?”

Finn shrugged and looked down at his reflection in the visor. “Habit. Phasma would kill me if she...”

He trailed off and admired where he stood, and squinted up at the blue sky fully expecting to see the  _ Finalizer _ in orbit. The ship was too far away to be seen. 

“I really did escape,” he stated softly with a laugh on his breath. “I did it.”

“I hate to ruin the moment but we are stranded in this desert. We need to find a town, people. The sooner we do, the sooner I can find BB-8, contact the Resistance, and get us a lift home.” 

Several thoughts clashed in Finn’s mind for a brief second, mainly that Poe was a  _ real _ Resistance fighter and therefore an enemy. If Finn hadn’t already made his stance with the First Order clear, supporting the enemy surely enforced it. His conditioning had taught him to loathe the Resistance and the remnants of those lessons changed the way he looked at Poe. He didn’t mean for it to and his heart quickly grew heavy with guilt for that unfair judgement.

But it was all interrupted by a singular word.

“Us?”

Poe shrugged. “Well, yeah. We’re in this together now, right? You helped me, that makes you Resistance.”

“Uh no, that makes me-” Finn wasn’t sure what that made him but it certainly didn’t make him  _ that _ . “I just needed a pilot, that’s all.”

Poe frowned and glanced away. “Oh.”

“I’ll stick with you. Until you find your droid. But we’re not- I'm not joining the Resistance. That’s not me. I don’t want to fight.”

Finn expected a speech for making his stance. No one had ever appreciated his lack of fighting spirit. The First Order, the Republic,  _ kriff _ \- the Empire! They were all the same, just fighters after control and power. To a man like Finn, none of it mattered. Not as long as he didn’t have to fight for anyone. 

The pilot said nothing. There had to be a million questions and accusations on his mind, Finn could see it in his brown eyes, but he kept them all at bay. It wasn’t a discussion that would bring about a solution to their current problems. 

“Don’t suppose that helmet of yours can tell us where to go?”

Finn shoved it on and spun around. It was still linked to the comms system of the ship and the servers onboard. Suddenly, he stopped spinning and stared off into the distance.

“I’ve got a couple life forms over that ridge. Nothing else, though.”

Yanking off his brown leather jacket, Poe tied the sleeves around his waist and started marching off with the blaster he’d saved from the Tie Fighter before it melted down. Finn joined him and just as they made it twenty steps away, they both heard an awful groan.

Poe looked back, his eyes widening, and grabbed his arm. “Run!” 

Sprinting away from the wreck, they barely managed to avoid the explosion that consumed the entire Fighter. The force of the blast caused them both to stumble and fall. Shrapnel shot up into the air, propelled by enormous flames and black smoke. It fell back down onto the dunes, sending sand flying in every direction.  Finn quickly moved on top of Poe, shielding him from the falling debris as he covered the pilot’s head and back with his armour. The Fighter was nothing but charred remains and soon enough, everything had fallen back down. Deeming it safe again, Finn rolled off the startled pilot.

“You alright?”

With his cheek pressed flat to the sand, Poe mumbled, “That’s the second time you’ve saved me. I’m beginning to think you want me in your debt.”

“Nah. You saved me too.”

“I made us crash.” It wasn’t his fault at all but Poe seemed to be in an argumentative mood. He was exhausted, in pain, and rather sick of staring at sand. Finn didn’t hold it against him.

“We survived. I consider that a win.”

Poe huffed and lifted himself up, twisting around to watch the metal curl on itself. He raised his hand and saluted the Fighter.

“Damn good ship. I might go stealing myself another one some day.” He got up and held out his hand for Finn, pulling him up with a grunt. “What a day. Well, no point wasting time. Let’s go.”

Realigning himself back on course, the pilot led the way towards the life forms. He only hoped they were friendly and could offer directions.

Back on the  _ Finalizer _ , a transporter was being prepped to fly down to  Jakku . General Hux watched from the launch control room above the bay, a  datapad in hand listing off all the damages brought on by that one rogue Tie Fighter.

He didn’t turn away from the  transparisteel even as the mere presence of Lord Ren brought a chill onto the small deck. The quiet chatter of the techs silenced for a moment before they returned to their work.

“This would’ve been avoided if you’d simply killed the pilot, rather than played with your food,” Hux stated once Ren was at his elbow.

“He was weak and secured when I left him. Search your systems, he must have had help,” Ren snarled back beneath the mask. He stood taller than the General but that meant nothing in the face of his failure. 

“Captain Phasma is already on it. At least you managed your task of finding out where the device is before he escaped your grasp. I hope your Knight is capable of over-turning an entire planet. Who knows how far that droid has gone by now?” Hux finally side-eyed Ren. “Your prisoner set us back hours. I can’t imagine Snoke will be pleased.”

“The droid will be found. My Knight is more than capable. Find out who helped the prisoner immediately. This is also your failure too. It is your ship he escaped from, with your Tie Fighter.”

Hux held back a scoff. “He was your responsibility. If he was aided after all, I shall accept the consequences but for now, accept your own, Ren. Oh, and the Fighter was shot down not far from an outpost. The prisoner will likely be heading that way as will my forces and your Knight. This time, kill him and don’t let him slip through your fingers.”

Under the curious gaze of the techs and sparse officers monitoring the hangar, Ren knew better than to lash out but his wrath was felt by everyone around him. He glared icily through the visor though it had little effect on the General.

“General Hux, sir,” a tech interrupted after she’d been stammering to speak up, fearful of cutting in. “The transporter is ready to launch.”

Hux glanced over his shoulder at her. “Authorise it. The sooner they leave, the better.”

“Yes, sir.” She quickly ducked back down to her seat. “ST-95, you are cleared for take-off.”

“ _ Copy that, ST-95 is cleared for take-off. _ ”

Hux stayed to watch the transporter lift off and shoot out of the hangar until it became a tiny speck against the planet. He trusted his men to find the pilot easily but the droid could’ve headed in any direction and been destroyed by now. Ren suddenly stiffened beside him and stormed off without a word.

* * *

Niima Outpost was a wretched place where the only law around came from an ill-mannered trader by the name of  Unkar Plutt. It wasn’t a proper town but rather a bunch of sturdy tents and metal huts, scattered with lowlifes and struggling scavengers trying hard to gather enough to bring food to the table. All kinds of junk were spread across tables and carpets, but the most popular spot was the large ring of benches under the wide parasol of Plutt’s shop. 

The folks sat in the shade were busy scrubbing at parts and scraps to give it more value, or trying to convince the ruthless trader that their junk was worth more than a single ration. Unfortunately, Plutt was the mayor, lawman, and ultimate ruler over the small outpost. If he decided it wasn’t worth as much as the week prior, no one could argue against him or his band of vicious reinforcers.

The second Finn and Poe stepped past the strange archway of the entrance, made from the rusted panels of speeders welded together, they knew the many eyes on them were evaluating their worth. Finn stood out in his shiny white armour and he was glad he’d asked to hold the blaster. It was his, after all, and Poe’s wrist was still sore, though not dislocated like he’d thought.

They made an odd couple, not at all prisoner and guard, but it was difficult to assume they were allies. What kind of person was friends with a stormtrooper? 

“We should ask if they’ve seen the droid,” Finn suggested as he stopped Poe with a hand on his shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah, we have to.” Poe glanced around the market. “I’ll take the left, you take the right. We’ll meet back here when we’re done.”

“Sounds good.”

Poe almost sprinted up to the nearest person, a humanoid species with grey skin that seemed unfit for the heat. Finn didn’t know what it was called. In fact, he’d never encountered any non-humans except from informative images on a screen back at the Academy. None of his superiors had ever been anything but human. He wasn’t quite sure how to address them and quickly enough, he’d angered a few locals. 

Backing away quickly from them, Finn smacked into something tall and furry. He heard a warning growl and stumbled back, his hands raised in defence.

“Sorry! Sorry!”

Before the creature could attack, Finn ran around a corner and hid until he thought the coast was clear. 

Tempted to give up, surely a droid wasn’t  _ that _ important, Finn started to head back to the market centre when he heard rushed beeps. He stopped to look, ready for another local to yell at him.

The beeping came low to ground, from a cage behind a trade stand. There were parts of old droids everywhere in the small tent but the white and orange round droid seemed to be intact and trying its hardest to knock the cage door open. Finn walked closer and the droid turned its little semi-circle head towards him and stopped for the briefest moment to observe him, before it screeched and fought its restraints harder. 

Looking for the seller, Finn realised the droid was about to be sold to someone and he quickly barged into the conversation.

“I’ll take that droid,” he interrupted, staring at the wrinkled and heavily-accessorized orange creature intensely. 

The buyer threw its four arms up into the arm but it saw the blaster in Finn’s hands and stormed off, knowing there was no fight to be had. Finn was more than grateful it went away.

“200 credits,” the seller demanded, its hand out for payment.

“I don’t have any money,” Finn stated. “This droid is wanted by the First Order. Give it to me now.”

“There is  only you. I see no Order.”

The droid only made more noise, its cage starting to weaken. From its panel, it extended a small rod that sparked electricity across the metal frame of the cage but it only  succeeded in zapping itself and nothing more. 

“Look, I don’t have time for this. Give me that droid.”

The seller climbed down off its stool and disappeared out of sight. When it came around the booth, its tiny head only reached an inch above Finn’s hip. It held a stick in its thin hands and proceeded to smack Finn in the leg and chest. 

“Ow! Hey, stop that!”

It walked around him, tapping his back and delivered a sturdy whack to his head. The helmet held up just fine but Finn was ready to snap that stick in half. He made a move to grab it but the seller had gone behind the booth again.

“You done?”

“The helmet.”

“What?”

The stick came flying out of nowhere and bonked Finn’s forehead. He slapped it aside with a huff.

“Enough! Fine, take it!”

Finn sighed and lifted the helmet off, wincing at the unfiltered sunlight blinding his eyes. He slammed it down on the counter and pointed at the droid, who... wasn’t there anymore. The lock on the cage had been melted off. 

“Where did it go?”

The seller let out a string of harsh words in its own dialect and started shoving parts away as if the droid could’ve hidden behind a thin sheet of metal. Finn heard a beep to his side and saw a blur or white and orange race away as fast as it could. Sprinting after it, Finn dodged his way through the crowd and tried to keep up with the droid. It was faster than him and Finn had to stop to catch his breath. When he looked up, it was gone. It couldn’t have gotten far.

Poe would be able to draw it out, so Finn headed back to the market and found the pilot knelt over. As he got closer, he realised Poe was pressing his head to the little droid and rubbing its side like some pet. Even he had to admit that was a little cute, especially when the droid made small rumbles. But stepping closer only interrupted the moment and as soon as the droid noticed Finn, it beeped angrily and retreated behind Poe’s legs. It extended that electric poker and zapped the air as a warning.

“It’s alright, BB-8,” Poe said gently. “He’s with me.”

The little unit looked up to Poe, its head rearing back either in confusion or disgust. Luckily, that thing was closely attached to the pilot and reluctantly retracted the poker. 

Finn bravely closed the gap and hovered a hand over Poe’s back as he got up with a wince and a stumble. 

“I was going to tell you I found him.”

Poe smiled “Thank you. Well, now that I’ve got him back, we need a ship.” He glanced around the junk stalls and added with a stale tone, “We’re spoiled for choice.”

“Uh, Poe?”

“Yeah?”

Finn gestured towards the entrance where a group of troopers had just landed on the edge of the outpost. They weren’t going to be a problem on their own but leading them was a dark figure with a black mask.

“We need to hide. Now.”

Noting the urgency in Finn’s voice, Poe started following him towards the stalls with BB-8 at his heel. “Who is that?”

“One of Lord Ren’s buddies. If they find us, we’re deader than dead.” Finn ducked beneath some hanging cloth set between tents. “We can take the troopers on but not him.”

“What’s so special about him?” Poe trailed off as he answered his own question. “He’s a Force user, isn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“All the more reason to avoid him then.”

Finn nodded. “Exactly.”

As they made their way through the outpost, the troopers spread out and began interrogating the scavengers. In such a small place, it was going to be impossible to hide forever. By the time they made it to the other end, where most ships had been parked, a couple troopers had already made themselves comfortable guarding the vehicles. BB-8 alerted them as he spun around a corner but it was too late, the troopers immediately picked Finn out by his armour and lack of helmet. He was a white beacon among the grey and beige clothes that protected the scavengers from the harsh weather.

Finn barely dodged the first blast they fired but that was all they needed. Reinforcements would arrive quickly and then there would be no escape.

“Shoot back!” Poe yelled over the blasts, hiding behind an old hut. “Damn it, Finn! Give me the blaster if you won’t use it!”

Finn had already betrayed the Order a dozen times by now but he found it difficult to aim his weapon at his fellow men. They were just like him, after all. But Finn had already lost everything and given up what little life he had to escape them. There was no chance they’d been sent down to retrieve them. It was a firing squad tying up loose ends.

So he pulled the trigger and tried not to stare too long at the dead trooper. The less he thought about it, the easier he could push down on the sickness rising in him. They were quickly pinned down with their one gun and rapidly dwindling cover.

“There’s too many of them,” Poe stated, glancing around the side of the hut before ducking back into safety just as a blast missed his head.

Finn aimed again and fired. Two troopers fell to the ground. And then another. He’d only fired once. The nearest trooper tried to advance but was sent flying back by a red blast that struck their chest plate. Before he got too distracted, he shot down the last trooper.

“You two, come with me!” An old man shouted from further down the alley, ignoring how Finn whirled his blaster on him in fright. 

Poe was up on his feet immediately, BB-8 spinning after him, before Finn had even thought to follow the man. Time couldn’t be wasted and Finn ran after them, right to an old freighter parked close by. It looked more like a pile of junk than a ship but Poe didn’t hesitate to run up the ramp.  Just as Finn reached the freighter, he heard the hiss of a  saber igniting behind him. He turned to face the Knight of Ren and accepted that death had finally come to claim him as the figure raised an arm to choke him. He felt the cold grasp around his neck.

A tall, hairy creature suddenly growled beside him and shot out a red bolt towards the Knight, but just as it reached him, the Knight deflecting it to the side with his  saber . It distracted him enough to let go of Finn, who stumbled to the ground. 

The creature’s enormous paw grabbed at his bicep to drag him back towards the ship before the Knight could attack again. Finn didn’t think as he stumbled to his feet, he held out his arm and threw the Knight backwards into the dust with an invisible shove.

The Knight’s  saber hilt fell beside him as he screamed in pain behind the mask. Finn had only wanted to keep him away but he’d unknowingly broken two of the Knight’s lower ribs as he’d concentrated his strength there. 

The ramp beneath his feet began to raise as the ship lifted off and Finn quickly moved back to safety, right into the creature that had saved him. It was enormously tall with a  bowcaster in its furry brown paws. Finn craned his neck back to look at it and nodded firmly, mostly because he was very afraid of it. The thing opened his mouth to growl and Finn flinched.

“Relax, he won’t bite. Not unless he doesn’t like you,” the man from before stated with a laugh, patting the creature as he walked by. “So, Poe tells me you saved his life.”

“Is he okay?” Finn blurted out now that the shock of the fight was wearing off.

The man blinked. “Uh, yeah, he’s fine. He's in the cockpit-”

Finn rushed past him without a thought. Poe was sat in one of the passenger seats behind the main console, trying to dig out the sand stuck between the panels of his droid. The stars in the viewport flew by they left  Jakku behind. He glanced up at Finn with a tired smile.

“You alright?” Finn asked, desperate to hear it from Poe himself. 

Poe chuckled and hung his head before perking back up. “I could use a week-long nap and a shower but I’ll live. You didn’t tell me you were-” 

“Excuse me!” The old man interrupted, barging onto the bridge with his hands extended out angrily, followed closely by the furry beast. “I was talking to you! Dameron, what kind of nerf herders are you running with these days?”

Finn’s face drained. Poe raised one expressive eyebrow up at the ex-trooper.

“I’m sorry about that, mister... umm.”

The old man cocked one hip and crossed his arms defensively. “Solo.”

“Wait, as in Han Solo? The Rebel  sc -... uh, smuggler-” Finn changed his tune before he could finish the rude term that followed. “I learned about you in class years ago.”

Han scoffed. “Yeah, I’m sure the First Order has a lot of nice things to say about me.”

“We need your help, Han,” Poe cut in as BB-8 opened up the compartment, dropping more sand on the floor. “I need to get this straight to Leia.” He held up a tiny metal stick the size of his thumb.

Han took it from him, admiring it in the light. Behind him, the creature growled gently. 

“No, I don’t recognise either,” he said to it.

“You understand that thing?” Finn asked incredulously.

Apparently that wasn’t the right word choice. He glanced between Han and Poe, who groaned into his palm. Han turned bodily towards him and poked a hard finger against his chest plate, frowning deeply.

“His name is Chewie, and he can understand you as  well. So watch it, kid. Just because Poe is vouching for you doesn’t mean I won’t toss you out the airlock.”

Finn felt his face heat up and he bowed his head in shame. “Sorry, I... I’m just gonna... I think I’ll go sit down somewhere. You lot clearly know what you’re doing.” 

Leaving them to sort out whatever this enormous mess was, Finn wandered the curved hallway until he found a padded bench and table to sit at. He yanked off his arm brace so he could bury his face in the softer material of his sleeves. The  bacta strip he’d shoved on his arm the night before probably needed replacing soon. He’d completely forgotten about it in all the rush. At least he’d managed to change into a fresh under-armour uniform before he’d defected, though now it was dirty and sweat-soaked.

For a miserable moment, he remembered that his helmet had been left behind with that evil trader with the stick- at least it got what it wanted.

He must’ve pressed something as little hologram monsters appeared on the table top and startled him, waiting to be made to fight. His hand lazily trailed along the edge of the table until he found a little switch and turned off the game, before slumping back down.  Blaming what he’d done on Ren now seemed ridiculous. He’d shoved that Knight backwards, and he could still hear the surprised scream of pain from whatever he’d done to the Knight’s body. He turned his head to the side and looked at his hand, turning it this way and that to figure out just what was wrong with him.

Boots echoed in the hall but Finn didn’t look up. He’d already pissed everyone off and he was too tired to deal with more people. He fully believed Solo would throw him into the vacuum of space if he carried on putting his foot in his mouth.

“Hey, mind if I join you?” Poe asked, hovering by the table. 

Finn shrugged and felt the seat shift under the pilot’s weight. “How’s your wrist?”

“It’s not so bad. Nothing rest won’t fix. I managed to convince Han to fly us to-” Poe trailed off and chewed on his lip in thought. “If you really want, we can drop you off somewhere along the way. You’ve helped me tremendously, I owe you at least that much.”

Finn raised his head and watched Poe carefully. “Is that what you want me to do?”

Poe shook his head. “Not really, you’re a great fighter. You got us out of that fight, you took on that Knight by yourself. And I think you’ve got what it takes to aid the Resistance. But, of course, I can’t decide for you. It’s your choice.” Poe looked down at him and smiled. “But for what it’s worth, I’d like to have you on my side.”

“I’ve got nowhere else to go. I left the only family I ever had, not that they really were a family to me. The First Order’s all I’ve ever known.”

“I heard they raise you from kids.”

Finn nodded weakly. “Yeah, they take them from families. I don’t know who my parents were or where I was born. I don’t think it’s on any file.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, put me right in your path, didn’t it?” The joke didn’t land but Poe put his hand on Finn’s shoulder, tugging at the  pauldron like he was unable to figure out how it came off.

“You should get rid of this. That’s not who you are, anymore.”

“I will. I should get some sleep.”

Poe smiled empathetically. “I should sleep too. But does that mean...?”

“Yeah, I’ll go with you.” Finn smiled softly and closed his eyes. “Wake me up when we get there. Wherever it is we’re going.”

“I’ll let Han know.”

Poe got up after another pat to Finn’s shoulder and left him to rest, but it wasn’t long before someone else wanted his attention. One moment he was hated, the next he was popular. He’d been drifting off to sleep when Han knocked on the table top.

“Mm, what??” Finn raised his head and blinked.

“Chewie told me what you did to that guy in black,” Han stated as he leaned forward on the table. 

Finn frowned and cast his eyes down at the table, preferring to look anywhere but Han’s face, but eventually he looked up and admitted, “I... don’t know how I even did that.”

Han gave him an odd look and then jutted his chin, like he’d decided something without ever informing Finn what it was. 

“I wouldn’t worry so much about that, kid. Get some rest, we’ll be there in a couple hours.” He was about to turn away when he paused mid-step. “The bunks are just down that way, might be more comfortable. And there’s food and water if you need it.”

Water sounded perfect and Finn waited until Han had disappeared back into the cockpit to seek it out. The Order had trained him to shut down certain needs. Not to say they weren’t there, he’d been thirsty all day, but he’d learned to ignore them until he physically couldn’t anymore. 

Once he’d dealt with all his needs, it left collapsing into a bunk all the more satisfying. His hands were numb and heavy as lead as he tore off the  plastoid armour, piece by piece, until he was left in his black uniform but he’d never felt better in all his life.

* * *

The transporter came back with only one survivor and no droid. 

The troopers gathered in the hangar beside General Hux seemed rather pointless when only the Knight stumbled out, wheezing and limping his way towards the General. He held out a dusty stormtrooper helmet and only once Hux took it, did he allowed the medics to carry him down to the  medbay . Hux tucked it under one arm, dismissed the squad, and headed up to the bridge where Captain Phasma was meticulously searching through the surveillance logs and tracking down the lone trooper who’d amassed such chaos. When he reached her, he set the helmet down by her arm.

“I imagine this is our troublemaker,” she said, pausing her work to check whose helmet it was. “FN-2187. He was on  Jakku with me yesterday during that raid.”

“His whole armour set is missing,” Hux stated as he brought up and read FN-2187's file. “I thought you knew everything about your troops, Captain.”

“It seems something slipped my grasp. It won’t happen again, sir.” Hoping to redirect Hux’s anger away from her, Phasma asked, “Has the droid been located?”

His gloved fists clenched at his sides, telling her all she needed to know. “It seems our forces were defeated and the droid escaped.”

“Even with the Knight?”

“He returned severely injured. Neither the prisoner or the droid could’ve managed such damage. Search through FN-2187's file, see if anything appears odd.” Hux glanced around, surprised that the Sith hadn’t materialised himself like a spectre looming over his shoulder by now. “Where is Ren?”

“Still with Supreme Leader Snoke, sir.”

“Right, inform me when he’s done. He needs to be made aware of the situation.” Hux turned away, leaving Phasma to carry on working.

Deep within the ship was a dark room sealed off from the rest of the world. It had no obvious purpose, no designation, on any plans or blueprints and no one had authorisation to enter except the two highest ranking men of the First Order. There were no windows or vents or hatches to break into the room, just a singular locked door at the end of a boring corridor that only maintenance used irregularly. 

Along the floor were small red lights that lined the edges of the room, barely highlighting the hanging tapestries depicting the pointed sun of the Order. Right in the centre was a raised platform on which an empty black throne sat, and a holoprojector at the base. The lights reflected on the glossy surface, creating strange shapes in the dents and cracks of the old throne. It was a place that sent shivers down spines and dropped hearts, empty and yet... not. 

Ren knelt at the base of the platform, his head angled down towards the crimson rug that led all the way back to the door far behind him. Although he felt safer under his mask, there was no hiding anything from his master. He didn’t need to look up as the projector flickered on and the tall, gangly shape of Supreme Leader Snoke filled the empty seat. 

“I have failed you, Master. I let the Resistance scum escape,” Ren admitted with a steady voice, distorted but strong. He was ready for the punishment. It would come swiftly and justly. 

The Supreme Leader chuckled deeply, like the rumble of an oncoming storm, and it wasn’t a reassuring sound. It was cruel and cold, bordering on sadistic as if his mind was brimming with awful intentions.

“Indeed, you have failed me but not because of this insignificant pilot,” Snoke stated slowly, roughly and deeply, as he listened to the unspoken thoughts inside Ren’s head.

Ren frowned and raised his head, looking at his master’s dark eyes. He’d never been sure  _ what _ the Supreme Leader was or how he’d come by the hideous scar that left a deep gash on his large and hairless head. 

“I don’t understand.”

Snoke held out his hand, his hologram fingers flickering as he reached out like he wanted to grab Ren. In a sense, he did. Ren froze and sucked in a sharp breath as his master entered his mind uncaringly and sifted through his recent memories.

“You have come far but there is still much for you to learn. You must not let anything slip through the cracks, no matter how distracted you may be.”

Ripping the memory from his mind, the Supreme Leader showed Ren the body that had fallen by him during the raid. The pilot had been his only focus at that time, not where he’d come from, and Ren had ignored the possibility of another Force user.

“You were blind though your eyes were open. This far into your training, I should not need to hold your hand like this,” the Supreme Leader snarled, relinquishing his grasp like tearing flesh away. Ren gritted his teeth against it. “Find this stormtrooper immediately.”

“Yes, Master Snoke.”

Ren knew it wasn’t over yet. 

“I trust that you can find a suitable way of reinforcing better behaviour in yourself. Unless you would like to return to me.”

He held very still and shook his head once. “No, Master. I will do so myself, I am not worthy of your presence.”

It was a thinly veiled lie, one that Snoke saw through with ease but he did not mock Ren on his fear. Instead, he grasped at his mind like the teeth of a predator and clamped down harder and harder until Ren’s frozen posture crumbled and he lurched down to the floor with a shaking arm barely supporting him. Ren didn’t beg and he didn’t stop Snoke, but he whimpered.

“There is too much weakness in you. Do not make me regret the time and effort I have spent training you into a worthy apprentice.”

After a moment, Ren regained his voice though it was not as powerful as before and it was filled with wavering pain. “I will rip out every shred of weakness from my body until I make you proud, Master. I will not fail you again.”

Only then did Snoke release  him. “See to it that you do not.”

The holoprojection switched off and Ren was left alone in the empty room again. He let his arm fold so he could briefly rest his head against the ground and gathered up the strength to stand. The Supreme Leader was right, he was weak and it needed fixing. But first, he had to find that trooper. He’d been blind to it. His brain could only focus on so many details at once, store what it could, and he’d missed it at first. When he focused, he remembered seeing a trooper ducking down beneath the sand dunes and later on, the same trooper had not fired his blaster. Ren should’ve done better, focused more. Now he was paying the price for overlooking the finer details.

By the time he stumbled out of the door, using the frame for support, he could sense someone approaching the level and a minute later, General Hux rounded the corner into the hallway. He stopped in his tracks for a second and Ren sensed his surprise, before carrying on until he reached the Sith.

“We have a problem,” Hux began, “A stormtrooper is to blame for the pilot’s escape. FN-2187. He had unauthorised access to his armour and blaster, but the helmet was retrieved from Jakku.”

“What else? I can sense you’re about to tell me something worse.”

Hux’s shoulders tensed and he straightened his back, his emotionless eyes confirming the worst. “He escaped with the droid and the prisoner, onboard a Corellian YT freighter. No doubt you know its owner is none other than-”

Ren held up a hand to silence him. “Perhaps it is not too late to find them. I will seek out this trooper by my own means, Snoke wants him delivered personally.”

Hux didn’t argue but as Ren moved past him, he reached out but quickly retracted his hand as Ren looked back. “There’s more. Your Knight... it seems he was injured by a Force user. Considering what you’ve just told me, I can only imagine this trooper is a rare case.”

It could have been very easy for Hux to gloat over the Knight’s failure but something about Ren’s sudden and uncontrolled tension stopped him. He didn’t dare think it fully, in case the  Sith could hear it, but Ren looked weak and exhausted, and each problem was knocking him further down.

“Will he live?”

“Yes, he’s in the  medbay . Cracked ribs, nothing that won’t heal. My men weren’t so fortunate. Your Knight was the only survivor.”

And for Ren, now would’ve been the perfect time to snipe about Hux’s weak human fighters. But he didn’t because he had sensed the General’s rare hesitation and offered him the same courtesy.

“You deal with the droid, I’ll find this traitor myself.” Ren started heading to the elevators with Hux beside him, matching his hurried speed.

“What do you think Snoke will do with him?”

“It is not our place to question the Supreme Leader.”

Hux’s nose crinkled in defiance as they stepped inside and the doors slid shut. Ren was a ball of tense nerves, poking at the medbay floor rapidly. When the elevator reached Ren’s floor, he bolted out like a black blur, ignoring everyone in his path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this so far! Let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

** Chapter 3 **

Finn woke with a jolt and sat upright, glancing at the closed door. He was alone but for a moment, he wasn’t sure where he’d passed out. The bed he’d collapsed on had not been washed for some time and he couldn’t get the stale scent out of his nose and overall, the ship was dusty and old. It matched its owner. Before he could wonder what had woken him, a knock landed on the door. It slid to the side by hand and Poe peeked in through a small gap. He’d found time to wash the blood and sweat off his face, and he seemed a little more rested.

“We’re here. Fair warning, it’s the exact opposite to where we just were.”

Finn stood and stared down at the scattered pieces of armour, and followed Poe straight out into the cargo hold. As the ramp came down, Chewie growled at the snow that billowed in and gave Han a scowl before stomping down.

“He hates the cold,” Han informed Finn with a roll of his eyes, following his companion.

A small group of rebels had gathered to witness the commotion and Han quickly bypassed them all to reach a small woman patiently waiting by the entrance to the base. As soon as their eyes met and Han was within arm’s reach, she cocked a delicate brow.

“I don’t usually allow smugglers on my planet,” she said, barely holding back a loving smile.

“I must be real special then,” Han replied, before he took Leia into his arms and held her close against his chest. 

The crowd gave them space and privacy, but a certain golden droid did not. Han felt a metallic arm trying to hold him and opened his eyes with a groan, his face suddenly far too close to one shining eye.

“Threepio, I will scrap you if you don’t take at least five steps back right now,” he grumbled, and glared at the tall droid.

“Oh! You would never, sir!” 

“Try me, tin can.” C-3PO quickly retreated from his impromptu group hug. “That’s better.” Han looked down at Leia’s amused face and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, back towards the Falcon. “I didn’t come alone. Your captain ran into some complications.”

She glanced around his side to see Poe coming towards her, BB-8 at his heel like always, but behind them was a young and very nervous black man who seemed ready to sprint away in the opposite direction. 

“You never can stay out of trouble, can you, Han?” She asked with a tilt of her head. Han couldn’t deny it, though he pulled a face to argue otherwise. She stepped aside to greet the pilot. “Dameron, you’re quite a sight. What happened to you?”

Poe waved his hand like it was nothing. “It’s good to see you again too, General. I got captured by the First Order on Jakku. Doesn’t matter, I got the device. And I made a friend.”

Poe pulled Finn closer with an insistent tug on his arm. Suddenly, Finn was forced to actually interact with the Resistance beyond Poe and grumbly Solo, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out who the lady with braided brown hair and a blaster hanging from her belt was. She was smaller and prettier than the propaganda had made her out to be; dressed in comfortable navy trousers, a nice blouse, and a matching navy vest with big pockets. Princess Leia looked nothing like he’d expected with her soft eyes and gentle smile.

“This is Finn. He helped me escape. Finn, this is General Organa.”

Poe fixed him with a look that said  _ do not mess this up _ . Finn bowed his head too fast and Leia huffed good-naturedly, taking his hands in her own. One of hers strayed to touch the fabric of his uniform and to the black emblem barely visible on his shoulder.

“It brings me relief to think there is hope, even in the darkest times.” When Finn looked at her, puzzled, she added, “This uniform isn’t some clever disguise, is it, Finn?”

“No... ma’am. Your highness. Uh-”

“General Organa will do for now. You look like you’ve seen hard times, Finn. I won’t ask anything of you, not until I know what to  _ do _ with you. You’re not the first to change sides.”

Finn nodded shallowly. “With all due respect, I’d really like some different clothes.”

“That can easily be arranged.”

Han raised his hand to butt in. “I’ll take care of that.”

Leia and Finn mirrored the same doubtful frown and equally asked, “You will?”

Han held her gaze for a moment and it seemed to settled the matter. Leia patted Finn’s shoulder and let him go. She then turned to Poe and led him towards the base, where Chewie was sheltering himself from the cold. BB-8 trailed after them and left one thick line in the snow. 

“You’re not going to find a trash compactor to throw me in, are you?” Finn asked as he looked up to Han nervously.

“I don’t think there’s one around here.” Han started marching off into the base and Finn hurried after him, already missing Poe. He didn’t want to be left alone with the cranky old man.

“Where is here anyways?”

“Vandor. It’s a cold and ugly little planet, but there’s nobody here to bother Leia and her troops. The Empire built this place but well... you know what happened to them.”

Han opened a door and the blast of warm air instantly made him sigh in relief. Finn’s under-armour uniform was insulating so he wasn’t as cold as some of the huddling rebels outside, but his face had started to sting. 

“You fought them all off,” Finn answered. “They said it was a lucky victory.”

“You mean your Order said that.”

“I’m not one of them. I was just born into it, I didn’t have a choice.”

Han scoffed. “We all have a choice, kid, and you made yours. That’s why you’re here. But they weren’t wrong, all the odds were against us. Same as they are now.”

Han took Finn through wide corridors and passed by many sealed doors, right into the core of the base where the private quarters of the rebels were holed up. Some rooms had been revamped into dorms, lines after lines of bunk beds that unsettled Finn too much. Han kept going. Finn had imagined he’d be given his own bunk but Han took him right to the other end of the base, and then out of the door and back into the cold.

“What- Where are we going?” Finn hesitated on the threshold, looking at the vast expanse of snowy trees and looming mountains in the distance.

Han doubled-back and sighed. “Alright, look, I lied. I’m not fetching you clothes. Just come with me, you’ll be fine.”

“Great. This is really making me trust you.”

Crossing his arms, Han stared Finn down. “You have no idea what’s inside you, or what you’re capable of. I can’t explain it all so come with me. There’s someone you need to meet, kid.”

Finn broke the stare and let his shoulders slump as he gave in, and followed Han outside into the thickening forest.

* * *

Deep in the forest, far from the bustle and distractions of the rebel base, was a girl sitting perfectly balanced on a thick branch. The leaves of the tree she’d chosen deflected most of the whistling wind and sheltered her from the biting cold. It was the perfect cosy spot to sit and just breathe.  She felt at peace, unbothered by the clumps of snow that would occasionally fall from up above to land in her brown hair. She was listening to the trees and the critters inside, to the wind and the birds that hunted for precious worms. 

“Kriff, this is boring,” she whined, after two hours of numbing her backside on the cold bark. 

“You have no patience, Rey,” her master replied after an unsuccessful attempt to regain peace. His back was pressed to hers, his legs crossed in a similar fashion, but he’d learned to ignore all distractions except his padawan.

“You said we’d be training today, Master Luke.” She unfolded her legs and let them hang over the sides of the branch, and glanced over her shoulder. 

“And we are.”

“There’s nothing to learn from listening to bugs crawling around. It just makes my skin feel gross.” 

After a beat of silence, Luke Skywalker exhaled deeply and opened his eyes and stared at the trunk of the tree. He said nothing but suddenly, snow fell down onto his padawan’s head and she shrieked at the coldness seeping under her collar.

“The lesson is to see the balance. How each creature has a vital role in the universe, even down to the smallest ant.”

“That was one of your first lessons when I was a kid, Master Luke. I think you’ve just run out of ideas.”

Luke dislodged more snow but Rey was prepared and deflected it before it landed in her damp buns. The water was going to make her hair untameable when she’d need to brush out the long strands that reached her lower back.

“At the very least, that means you’ve been paying attention after all. Fine, what would you like to do while we still have daylight?”

“I wouldn’t mind a duel. We haven’t done that since-”

“Yesterday.”

Rey rolled her eyes and slumped against Luke’s back, tilting him forward. He tried hard to frown but it was impossible.

“I’m young and full of energy, master. I can’t waste my time sitting in trees.”

“I feel as though you’ve insulted me in there somewhere. Fine. Go to the clearing.” As Rey moved to leap off the tree, Luke grabbed her sleeve. “But do not leave a single mark in the snow. If I find so much as a toe print, you’ll be spending the rest of the day reading.”

Rey huffed and groaned but accepted the challenge. Luke let go of her arm and she jumped across to the next tree, using her arms to pull herself along and clinging to the branches. Snow fell from the trees she disturbed but Luke didn’t count that. He knew very well that she could make her way through the pines without  problem but it required concentration. And  concentration meant silence. 

Luke watched her for a moment before climbing down to the ground and wrapping his cream-white cloak tighter around himself to ward off the cold. She wouldn’t take long to reach the clearing where they often duelled these days but patience was a skill she needed to work on, so Luke was fine making her wait while he walked leisurely.

When he got there, Rey was already warming up and stretching with the help of her  saber hilt. She moved gracefully and fast, a dancer weaving through the snow. Although the girl had reached adulthood years ago, her entire life had been dedicated to her training, something she’d chosen for herself, and her efforts were clear and stunning to behold; when she wasn’t so impatient and inattentive.

“Lose your way, master?” She teased as she lunged at air, spinning back on one foot to dodge an imaginary jab.

She’d flattened most of the fresh snow with her warm-up. Luke unclasped his cloak and draped it over a low hanging branch of a nearby tree. Some were scarred with  saber burns and the odd little stones dotted about had been levitated and moved around a dozen times.

While Luke stuck to the more traditional long brown and beige robes of the Jedi, Rey hated needlessly overlaid clothing. Her stone-grey jacket was cropped above her waist for easier movement, with a lighter grey shirt beneath, and her baggy black trousers were tapered at the calves, and tucked into knee-high boots. Her elders would’ve scoffed at her choice of darker fabrics on a snow planet, but Rey was not a stealthy fighter. When she engaged in a fight, she did not wish to hide in her environment.

“Ready?” Luke asked with a cocked eyebrow, pulling his  saber free and igniting the green blade with a warm hum. 

“Always. Bring it.” Her saber ignited in a blue flash and she grinned over the blade.

“Only one today? I thought you were eager to fight.”

“I only need one to defeat you, master. And who’s to say I won’t use the second one? If I revealed all my tricks at once, you might have a smidgen of an advantage.” She spun the saber in her hand and lunged suddenly, clashing with Luke’s, but he was prepared for her first move and threw her back.

“Arrogance will not get you far, my dear. If you’re so confident of your talent, you need only show it. Words are nothing.”

Luke blocked another jab as Rey tried to cut low. The blade got narrowly close to Luke’s leg but he caught her blade and shoved it back up. Rey retreated for a second before attacking again. Before she could slash downwards, Luke threw her back with the Force and sent her skidding back a few steps. Rey was quick to block the onslaught of lunges and jabs, parrying each one until her back was up against a tree.

She ducked down low and slashed behind her into the tree, causing the tall pine to groan and fall forward. Rolling out of the way, she left Luke to hold up the trunk before it could crush him but he jumped away from her oncoming slash. The tree fell between them with a deafening thud.

“That poor tree did nothing to you,” Luke complained, as Rey vaulted over the trunk to continue their fight but he held up his hand to stop her. “It seems we have company.”

Rey laughed. “You’re not fooling me with that one, master.”

Luke shook his head and turned the  saber off and clipped it back on his belt, pointing back towards the base. Rey hesitated to look over her shoulder but she grinned at the sight of Han emerging through the trees. She quickly followed her master’s example and jumped back over the trunk, running up to Han.

“I was wondering what that awful noise was,” Han said as he eyed the tree and then Rey’s eager face and Luke’s sheepish shrug. “Come here, you.”

He held out his arms and Rey closed the space between them, burying her hands under his jacket as she hugged him painfully tight. He wheezed in a breath as he patted her back, trying to make her loosen her intense hold.

“I missed you so much,” she mumbled against his chest.

“I missed you too. I see Luke is keeping you busy while I’m gone.”

Rey scoffed and pulled back. “If you count sitting in a tree for hours  _ busy _ , then sure. I’ve been  _ very _ busy. Who’s this?” Her attention laser-focused on the young man Han had dragged along with him. “He doesn’t look like a rebel. Or a smuggler.”

She stepped around Han and stared up at Finn, eyeing him up almost aggressively. 

“Who are you?”

“FN-Finn... My name’s Finn.”

“Why do you have a First Order emblem on your arm, Finn?”

Luke put a hand on Han’s shoulder and briefly embraced him before he calmly rested the other metal hand on Rey. Finn wanted to disappear.

“Han, what’s going on?” Luke asked, giving Finn the same once-over as Rey. Except he wasn’t watching him with the same intensity and there seemed to be dots connecting in his head.

“Chewie saw him fight one of the Knights of Ren,” Han stated.

Finn quickly held up his hands in defence. “No, I- I didn’t fight him. It was sort of, like, I pushed him. Really hard. I didn’t mean to. Look, Han said I should meet you and he didn’t exactly give me a choice, so here I am.” Han rolled his eyes.  “I don’t know what happened. It was an accident.” 

Luke turned to Han. “Take Rey back inside. I believe Finn and I need to talk.”

Rey whirled back, exasperated. “But Master Luke-”

“We’ll continue later on.”

Rey knew better than to argue but she wanted to, even when Han promised she could see Chewie again. Once they had walked a short distance from the clearing, Luke sighed and gestured for Finn to sit on the trunk beside him.

“You’re Luke Skywalker, aren’t you? The legendary Jedi.”

“I wouldn’t call myself that but sure. So, you pushed a Knight over? Is that all?”

Luke didn’t seem to be judging him. It was more of a conversation starter and Finn found it easier to look at his hands while he talked. 

“I’m... a stormtrooper. Was a stormtrooper. Couple days ago, I was on Jakku and I nearly died. Don’t tell Poe it was me but I threw him in the air. And then I did it again to that Knight. I don’t know how. It was like this  _ need _ inside me to get them away from me and I barely understood what I was seeing.” Finn frowned at his hand, rubbing into his palm with his thumb. “It sounds stupid saying it aloud.”

“It doesn’t sound stupid at all,” Luke reassured. “I’ve never met a stormtrooper with Force sensitivity but there’s stranger occurrences out there. Tell me, Finn, what do you know about the Force?”

Finn shrugged. “It’s like this invisible  _ thing _ . I’ve seen Lord Ren kill people without touching them, seen things float and move around him. They don’t exactly teach you this stuff in the Order.”

Luke frowned and tensed at the mention of Ren. 

“It’s more than that, so much more. The Force is an energy that holds everything together, connects all of us together. Some people can reach out and use it. For good and for evil.” He glanced to Finn and lingered on the emblem on his arm. “It’s not easy and it takes practice and dedication, but it’s very possible to control it. No matter what anyone says, you can learn to make sense of it all and use it.”

“Like the Jedi?”

“Yes. P atience is key and you’ll need to practice every day.”

“I’m a patient guy and I can learn but...” Finn trailed off and finally met Luke’s eyes. “I’m scared of it. I’m scared I’ll hurt people. I hurt the Knight and I know it was just survival, but I didn’t mean to. I hurt Poe as well.”

“The unknown is always frightening. All the more reason to seek it out and conquer your fears. This power you have inside you isn’t to be feared, it isn’t there to harm you. It’s neutral, you use it however you need to.” 

Luke stood up and ushered Finn to his feet. He raised his hands and the trunk began to shift and lift into the air. He moved his arms to the side and carried it through the trees and dropped it down out of the way, without ever touching it. He turned back to Finn.

“Can you teach me to do that?” Finn asked, his eyes wide as he stared at the relocated tree.

“No.”

Finn blinked. “I’m sorry, no?”

“No. I won’t teach you.”

“But that big talk, all the ‘you can learn’ stuff...”

Luke marched back to his side. “You will learn but I won’t teach you. The girl you met, her name is Rey. She will teach you, it’s about time she has a goal.”

“Are you sure you can’t teach me? She seemed angry at me.”

Luke chuckled. “I admit she can be a little scary at times but she’ll be a good teacher. I’m not taking on any more students, Rey is an exception.” He started walking back towards the base and gestured for Finn to follow. “I promise, you will be in good hands.”

* * *

“Absolutely not!” Rey cried out as she sat in front of Luke, her  saber in pieces as she optimised it. But her attention wasn’t on the saber, it was on her master’s ridiculously smug face. “Is this because I cut down a stupid tree? There are better punishments out there, master. Ones that don’t involve stormtroopers.”

“It’s not a punishment, Rey.”

She frowned deeply. “Sure feels like it.”

Luke chuckled and leaned back with his arms crossed. “I believe you’re ready for the next step in your training. You wanted to go beyond textbooks and duelling.”

“But I don’t  _ want _ a padawan.”

“Tough. He’s here now, he needs a teacher. I don’t make the rules.”

Rey threw her hands up in the air. “Yes, you do!” 

“Look, you are not the first apprentice to be handed over a padawan they didn’t ask for. You won’t be the last, either.” Luke reached out and took Rey’s hand in his own. “Consider this your next trial. Who knows, you might like him.”

“He’s a stormtrooper.” 

“He’s a young man who risked everything to save  Dameron’s life and to escape the First Order. Give him a chance. Please, Rey. I know you can do this.”

Rey groaned and but nodded. “Fine.”

“Good. Thank you. Now, I need to talk to Leia. I’m sure Finn is around here somewhere. Why don’t you go introduce yourself when you’re finished here?” Luke got up and tucked the seat under the table, smiling smugly. “Oh, and be nice to him. Smile if you’re at all capable.”

Rey stuck her tongue out, making Luke chuckle all the way to the door before he left her alone in her room. She didn’t want a padawan but at the same time, she understood that the Jedi were a nearly extinct breed. Luke wouldn’t always be there and she’d need to take up the mantle. 

Rey stared down at her disassembled  saber and slowly fitted it back together, examining each piece for much longer than necessary to draw out her task. Eventually, though, her  saber was one solid weapon again and she clipped it on her belt.

Given her role in the Resistance, she’d been gifted one of the nicer rooms in the old base. No one had any clue how long they’d remain here. Just five months prior, the whole fleet had had to relocate under enemy fire and hide on Vandor. People were used to leaving their belongings in bags and crates and never taking them out for long.

Rey practiced the simpler life they’d adopted but she didn’t have much to begin with. Her clothes, tools, and a few mementos from her childhood, could all fit into a large crate and be tossed straight onto a ship. She didn’t need more than that. 

It made her wonder what Leia would give to Finn. Surely she hadn’t accepted a stormtrooper into her ranks so quickly. He wouldn’t be the first defector to cross their path. Some ran straight to the Resistance for help but most of them just went to the Outer Rim and hid there for their whole lives. She’d yet to see one defector stay for longer than a month. But she wouldn’t get any answers by sitting in her room.

The first place she looked was the mess hall but as she stood in one of the wide doorways and looked into the large crowd, she knew Finn wouldn’t be brave enough to sit there. So she searched the dorms, and then the hangars, and then all the small little rooms that Finn could hide in. He wasn’t in the meeting hall either and certainly not holed up where all the intel was stored. 

After an hour of searching, she was about to give up when she ran into BB-8 and right after that, into Poe directly.

“Hey, Rey, you alright?” He asked, titling his head as she peeked into a dark doorway. He’d changed into clean clothes and someone had stitched up the cut near his hairline.

“No, I’m looking for that damn stormtrooper. I’ve looked everywhere and-”

“Oh, he’s in my room.” She blinked. “General Organa’s  gonna keep an eye on him and she entrusted him to me. I was just on my way back.”

Rey finally noticed the clothes folded neatly in Poe’s hands. 

“You  wanna come with?” She nodded with a sigh and started walking beside him and the droid. “What’s up with you? You seem... annoyed.”

“Master Luke wants me to train him. I don’t want to. He’s going to run anyways. They always do.”

Poe shrugged. “If he runs, he runs. But we talked on the way here and he wants to stay. Look, I know how you feel about the First Order, I hate them too, but Finn isn’t a bad person. He helped me get out.”

“He  _ used _ you to get himself out,” Rey corrected, “and if it wasn’t you, it would’ve been someone else. Stormtroopers are all the same, they do what they must to survive.”

The pilot frowned and his grip on the clothes tightened. “True. I suppose. But you haven’t met him.”

“I did. Han brought him to our training lesson.”

“I mean, met him properly. Not given him one of your interrogations.”

Rey glared up at Poe’s knowing look. “It’s not an interrogation.”

“Call it whatever you like but the kid’s scared, okay? Like, really scared. He doesn’t know what to do and I managed to convince him to come here.” Before they reached the door, Poe stopped. “Take it easy on him. He’s seen some shit.”

“Fine.”

“Good.” 

Poe knocked on his own door, an action that felt very strange and unsettling, and opened it a moment later. BB-8 rolled past his leg and spun straight to Finn, who was sat on his bed looking hopelessly lost. Rey lingered and shut the door behind her, clinging to the wall like a shadow, but Finn immediately spotted her and frowned.

“You’re not  gonna have a go at me again, are you?” Finn asked warily, taking the offered clothes with a silent thanks. He wasn’t going to change into them with a girl in the room so he placed beside him.

“No. I don’t know. I need to talk to you.”

“Is this about the training?”

Rey nodded and peeled away from the wall to grab a chair from the corner of the room, dragging it right in front of Finn and spun it backwards before she dropped down into it. Her toned arms wrapped around the backrest and she leaned forward, unknowingly menacing.

“From now on, you answer to me. You can call me Master Rey. You’ll be what’s called a padawan. Basically, I’ll teach you everything you need to know about the Force and you’ll listen to every word I say.”

Finn blinked and then laughed, thinking it was a joke, but Rey’s stern frown stopped his chuckles.

“You’re serious.”

“Yep.”

Looking up to Poe, who so helpfully shrugged, Finn slapped his thighs and shook his head.

“Nope. I’m not calling anyone master. That’s just weird.”

Rey suppressed an eye roll. “It’s not weird, it’s respectful. It’s an ancient Jedi tradition.”

“Yeah, well, call it whatever you like. I’m not calling anybody master.” Finn crossed his arms definitively. “But people call Ren  _ Lord _ so I suppose, I could call you Lady Rey.”

Rey bristled and pulled a face. “Absolutely not.” And then her expression changed to a more guarded one and she asked, “You know Lord Ren?”

“I don’t  _ know _ him. Nobody except General Hux and his top commanders know him. I was stationed on the  _ Finalizer _ and Lord Ren uses it as his main base. I saw him from time to time. I was on a mission with him on  Jakku .” Finn paused and looked up at Poe, who seemed in a world of his own. His expression was pained but he perked up when Finn added, “That’s where I met you.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but that hurt,” Poe stated as he rubbed his wrist.

“I’m sorry.”

Poe shrugged. “I tried to kill you, it’s only fair.”

For a moment, Finn’s brain lagged behind. How was that fair? Poe was so nonchalant about it that it made Finn’s head spin. He decided to just accept it. They were equal then. No hurt feelings. It felt refreshing and it lifted a weight of his chest.

“What’s he like?” Rey cut in. “Lord Ren.”

Finn pondered the question as he looked back down at his lap. “Scary. No,  scary isn’t not the right word. It’s more like, your whole body goes cold when he’s around. His Knights are just as bad but they’re rarely around.” Finn’s eyes flicked up to Poe again. “Do you think I killed him?”

“The Knight? I doubt it.”

“I heard him screaming.”

Rey frowned doubtfully. “You said you pushed him with the Force. It can’t have been that bad.”

Finn shook his head. “He went flying back and he screamed. I can’t get it out of my head. Same as... Okay, look, the reason I ran away from the Order is because they put me on a battlefield. I couldn’t take it. I hid most of the time and I didn’t kill anybody. I couldn’t. I know they would’ve just put me into the next fight if I didn’t do something.”

The room fell silent with his confession. Poe already knew, more or less, and Rey wasn’t sure what to say to such blatant honesty. Finn expected her to doubt him, cut him with her sharp questions, but when he looked over to her, she had a strange, serene expression. Even BB-8 stayed quiet as it bumped its head against his knee like the droid was trying to comfort him. Finn reached down to stroke its metal head like he would with a Loth-cat.

Suddenly, Rey stood and grabbed a cartridge for one of Poe’s blasters from the bedside table. She held it flat in her palm in front of Finn, who looked at her quizzically.

“Push it.”

Finn reached out with his fingers and Rey slapped his hand.

“Ow! Oh, you meant with...” Her unimpressed look humbled him. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Just do it.”

Finn looked at the cartridge. It was barely the length of her palm, thin and compact. He tried to connect with the same emotions he’d felt when up against a threat but quickly retracted those thoughts as he felt something inside him.

“Don’t be scared,” Rey reassured as she sensed the turmoil in his mind. “Reach out to it. Let it help you.”

Finn gulped and tried to accept the strange, warm sensation moving down his arm and into his palm. He thought about making the cartridge move up from Rey’s hand so he couldn’t hurt her and then-

The cartridge shot out of her palm and smacked into the wall opposite, startling BB-8 and Poe who stood close by. He picked it up and passed it back to Rey. Finn stared at her with wide eyes.

“See? You can do it.”

Her small smile gave him a confidence boost and when she’d set it up again for him to repeat, he didn’t hesitate to allow the power through him. It hit the wall, again and again, until he felt comfortable with the tingling warmth in his palm and the odd buzzing under his skin. 

By the time he’d learned to trust his aim and whatever was helping him, Rey had begun to change her mind about the trooper. Maybe he wasn’t so bad.

“I think that’s enough for one day.” She gave him a smile. “There’s hope for you yet. I’ll come find you in the morning and we can go again.”

“Okay.” Finn smiled back shyly and added, “I’d like that.”

“I’ll see you later, Poe.” She patted the pilot’s shoulder and dropped down to a squat to cuddle BB-8 before she stood up and left them in peace.

“She can be a little rough but she’s a good person,” Poe said as he put the chair back and sat beside Finn. “You did good.”

“Thanks. Are you sure we’re cool? I mean, I threw you in the air.”

Poe waved dismissively and wrapped an arm around Finn’s shoulders before he could stop himself. Finn tensed, unused to physical contact aside from combat training, but he relaxed little by little.

“We’re cool, Finn, don’t worry. I’ve never flown without a ship before.” He laughed and rubbed Finn’s shoulder. “Hey, it was war. You’re on our side now. And I don’t hold grudges. I may not be a Jedi but living with Skywalkers around, you tend to pick up their way of seeing things.”

“So you can’t do what I did?”

Poe shook his head. “Nope. Not everyone gets to.”

“Does it annoy you?”

“Nah, I don’t need the Force to fight. I can fly better than anyone else and that’s more than enough for me. I trained myself too, I wasn’t born a fully-fledged handsome pilot. Same as you’ll learn to master your own skills.” 

BB-8 beeped and nudged his leg, letting out a string of noises. Poe suddenly slapped his forehead and got up.

“ Ahhh , forgot I was supposed to attend a meeting! I’m  gonna be late. Stay here if you’d like, I’ll bring dinner with me.” He didn’t add that it meant Finn wouldn’t have the ordeal of going into the mess hall but Finn understand anyways and thanked him.

As he was left alone in Poe’s minimalistic room, he picked up the discarded cartridge and watched it float an inch above his palm before his fingers closed around it. As frightened as he was to be among rebels, far from anything he was familiar with, he didn’t feel so scared about whatever was happening to him. Rey would help him. It was more than anyone had ever done for him in all his life.

* * *

Leia stared at the small device that had cost dozens of lives to reach her. She’d already had it examined but no one knew what it was, because it couldn’t be accessed. It had been put inside different consoles and even into R2-D2's processing unit and it had not unlocked.

“You’d think we’d have a way,” Poe stated as he placed a warm drink beside the General’s hand and picked up one of the empty seats in the command room. He sat down next to her and admired the black cylinder.

“No one recognises its encryption,” Leia added, thanking Poe for the drink. “I’m not entirely sure what it’s for, either. If it really is from Fulcrum, what reason did they have to send this here?”

“Well, people died for it. It has to mean something.”

“But I just don’t know what.” She paused and picked it up. It barely weighed anything, slick and smooth except for the console connector on one end.

“Do you believe the warning? About the  Dark Side growing stronger?”

“It’s entirely possible. They’ve never given up, but neither have we. If it’s true and not just some scare tactic, we have to be ready. And we have to find out what’s on this thing. I suppose the silver lining is that we have it, and not the First Order.”

“I don’t think they know what it is. It’s all they asked it about.”

“That only complicates things.”

Poe nodded solemnly and looked around the quiet room. This late at night, only a few people were working on the communication panels and fewer still on monitoring developing intel. No one batted an eye at the General sitting by herself. It was a common sight.

“This trooper, Finn, did he really save your life?” Leia had a tired look in her eyes and she hoped the  caf would keep her alert a bit longer.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him. BB-8 would be First Order property. I trust him.”

She smiled over the ceramic rim. “You trust everyone.”

Poe shrugged bashfully. “You always say there’s hope for everyone, and I believe that’s true. I saw what he could do, even with Rey. He’ll be an immense advantage if we can keep him here.”

“If.  _ If _ we can keep him here. They run, Poe, they always run and I don’t blame them. People like Finn will always have the First Order looming over them.”

“Then it’s our job to help. Why not target the First Order directly? We talked about that mining facility on Pasaana. It would make a good target and they won’t expect it. I know you wanted to wait until we had this thing in our hands before striking again.”

Leia put her drink down and frowned. She tapped on the table and brought up a screen. Once she had found  Pasaana on the map, she zoomed in and eyed it curiously.

“If not, our spies received intel about a planet the First Order have been re-routing their supplies to.”

Leia shook her head. “It will be heavily guarded. We need something simpler, less risky for our forces. The mine will slow down their production.”

“Plus  Pasaana is an empty desert, no risk of civilian casualties.”

“Good, maybe we can take their supplies too. They’ll need heavy-duty transporters to get that metal off-world, maybe we can repurpose them. I’ll think about it. We can’t do anything to draw too much attention to ourselves.”

Poe frowned and looked away from the map, to Leia. “They cut resources again, didn’t they?”

Leia sighed and lowered her voice, so no one could hear the disheartening words. “The Republic believes we are wasting our time. While you were indisposed,  Holdo warned me they would shut us down soon if we did not present proof. I sent Korr Sella to ease their minds.”

“The proof is there, clear as day. They wanted us to do this.”

Leia raised her hands to calm Poe. “I know that, but if this all returns to the Republic, it will be a scandal. You know how they are. They don’t consider broken trades and unauthorised conflict enough to declare war.”

“We’re already at war... we never stopped being at war. I don’t care if the Republic has some shiny name for it. People are dying, planets are being taken over... I-”

She rested a hand on Poe’s shoulder. “That is why we fight. You’re right, we can’t give up. I’m delaying the Republic’s decision as much as I can but we don’t have long.”

“I know you’re doing your best. I just wish they’d see the truth that’s right in front of them.”

“Some people would rather turn away than face the truth, especially if it lines their pockets. You should get some rest, Poe. You look exhausted.”

Poe shrugged. “Yeah, well, being tortured isn’t very nice. You should sleep too, General. You need it more than the rest of us these days.”

Leia smiled fondly at him. “You first, Captain.”

He stood and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze as he passed by. Even though he’d only just returned, he was eager to fly off again and put a dent into the First Order’s supply lines. The mine was only just the start, he wanted to destroy all of it, cut them off from everything so they’d be vulnerable.

And then the Republic wouldn’t be able to deny how useful the Resistance was.

* * *

Finn couldn’t sleep. At first, he thought it was because he laid on Poe’s bed while the pilot took a blanket to the floor but when he’d asked them to swap, the floor hadn’t brought sleep either. Poe was half-asleep and fed up with the constant tossing and turning, and quickly Finn found himself back in bed, back to back with Poe. They fit, that wasn’t a problem. And then, eventually, he understood what was unsettling him after all.

The room was silent. Completely dead. Not a single noise, not while BB-8 was powered down in its charging port like its owner. Finn couldn’t hear the constant rumble of engines. He couldn’t feel the hum of machinery within the walls or the distant sound of ships taking off and returning into hangar bays. Even the noise of the freighter had been easier to sleep with than absolute silence.

The few times he’d been on solid ground was at the Academy he was raised in, but by twelve years old, he was exploring the stars. And by sixteen, he had a permanent role onboard a Star Destroyer and was being reassigned every few years until he’d been passed over to the newest model. It had been over a decade since he’d slept without noise and now it kept his eyes open.

His fear of being caught out of bed was quickly losing its power over him. If Phasma hadn’t caught him, General Organa wouldn’t either. At least, that’s what he told himself as he quietly padded down the empty halls.  He brought his shoulders closer and shoved his hands in the pockets of Poe’s jacket, which he was only borrowing and planned on giving back. Poe had given him fresh clothes and they fit well, but it wasn’t warm enough. Especially this late at night. 

The Empire had built this place in a rush, with few credits, and the duracrete walls couldn’t insulate the base. When he walked against certain walls, he could hear the wind howling outside and it sent shivers down his spine. He had no aim in his steps, no place he was particularly seeking out, but he found himself in the hangar bay. 

Only one guard was on duty but they were asleep in the far corner, and Finn made sure to sit out of sight. He looked at all the Resistance ships, most of them old and outdated. Who was still manufacturing Y-Wings these days? Maybe it was just from being around the latest and greatest tech advancements but he found nothing special about them. There was a black and orange X-Wing sat nearby which caught his eye, only because the paintjob was cool compared to the others.

“Thinking of running off already?”

Finn screamed. A high-pitched yelp of genuine fear which woke the guard. Rey chuckled and waved at the guard to calm down, climbing over the stack of ammunition crates to sit down a moment later beside Finn. 

“Manly,” she teased, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them.

“Shut up. I didn’t hear you coming.” Finn’s face heated up and he looked away from her smug laugh.

“Clearly. Wouldn’t have mattered if I coughed, you were really lost in your head.” She nudged his shoulder. “So, you thinking of leaving?”

Finn shrugged. “I can’t fly so no, not really. Plus, I’ve got nothing out there waiting for me.”

Rey untangled herself and grabbed her  lightsaber , just for something to fiddle with. She seemed preoccupied with her own thoughts but Finn was distracted by her weapon.

“What is that thing?”

“It’s a  lightsaber . If you stick around long enough, Master Luke will help you make one.” 

She held it horizontally and kept Finn back with a hand to his chest. When she pressed a button, a blue beam shot out like a blade and Finn flinched backwards against the crates. Then she pressed a secondary button and another beam shot out the other end, like a long blue staff.

“It’s awesome,” Finn said with a grin. He was curious but he kept his distance, feeling the heat coming from the glowing blade. “You made it yourself?”

“Yeah. I always thought these were so cool as a kid. Master Luke didn’t let me upgrade to two blades when I turned eighteen, almost five years ago. And now I beat him in every duel.”

She turned the  saber off and put it back on her belt. Finn wasn’t sure he even wanted something so dangerous. He’d probably cut himself with it. 

“So, are you his daughter then?”

Rey flicked her eyes to him and laughed warmly. “Luke? Ha, no! Luke’s not my father, well not really. He raised me, they all did.” She gestured widely around the hangar and shrugged. “I don’t know who my real parents are. I was left behind at his temple on Dantooine. The Resistance is the only family I’ve ever known.”

“Oh, ok. I just figured  ‘cause ... you both have this ability. And you’re equally strange.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. What about you? Is your family out there somewhere?”

Finn shook his head and wrung his hands. “No, I... I don’t know who my parents were. I was taken as a child, before I can even remember. I suppose the Order could’ve been a family, the unit I was part of were decent men.” He remembered how no one had said a word about the fallen troopers. “But I’m not like them. I couldn’t just shut down my emotions and pretend everything was okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

He looked up to Rey’s warm brown eyes and smiled. “It’s okay, I don’t want to ever go back. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself now, though. The Order’s the only thing I’ve ever known.”

Rey nudged his side with her elbow. “Well, stick around. We’ll give you something or other to do. There’s always plenty to be done.”

“Is there anything I can do right now? I can’t sleep.”

Rey hummed and glanced out towards the hangar. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to teach you more. Just because you can push things doesn’t mean you’re going to earn the rank of Jedi Master any time soon. Come on, get up. Let’s see if you can bring things back as well as you can throw them.”

She stood and held out her hand, and Finn took it.


	4. Chapter 4

** Chapter 4 **

The  medbay wasn’t a sector Lord Ren visited often. Something about the sterile smell of  bacta and striking white walls put him off completely. He opted to be treated in his quarters where there were no beeping vitals or the lingering feeling of death. Not everyone could be healed. 

He watched his brashest Knight wheeze, immobile in a raised bed. It had never really crossed Ren’s mind that his Knight, Ushar, could appear so weak. On a battlefield, he was indestructible and yet here he was, beaten by a traitor. He was a large man in his armour and dark clothes but now he looked gaunt and frail, pale skin sickly and grey. His dark hair was swept away from his closed eyes.

Ushar was unconscious, either from the mix of painkillers they’d injected in him during surgery to repair the damage or simply because he was too exhausted to fight the pain like he normally would have. Knowing  Ushar , Ren wanted to bet he’d asked to stay awake as they cleared out any loose fragments of  bone . 

To the droids, fixing him wasn’t a problem. Broken bones happened all the time. They just couldn’t understand what had caused such an intense impact. Like he’d been struck directly by an inconceivable force. Droids didn’t know any better.

Ren did. 

This defective trooper had lashed out with the Force, concentrating all his strength into that one part of  Ushar’s body. It was impressive. Most would be worried but Ren wasn’t, in fact he wanted to see it in action. FN-2187 wasn’t trained, he had no control and only wild strength. He’d beaten Ushar and lived, escaped, something unknown to  Ushar and he would surely never live the shame down. 

Ren observed the shallow rise and fall of  Ushar’s chest beneath the blanket and waited for it to stop, but it didn’t. Regardless of the fear he’d shown to General Hux, the man had misunderstood its meaning. Ren wasn’t fearing for  Ushar’s survival, he feared for his own. The Supreme Leader would be immensely displeased to learn of more failure.  Ushar would surely pay his own price but if he died, the blame would fall on Ren. He was their master.

Ushar would survive. For now. He had to.

* * *

Maybe Finn shouldn’t have stayed up the entire night with Rey, flinging rocks back and forth in the empty corridors until the sunrise. They hadn’t bothered anyone but now, he couldn’t talk five words without yawning in the middle. And he shouldn’t have carried on this strange schedule for another three days, especially when Rey was wide-awake and wanted to test Finn’s control more during the day.

He’d found the little crevice between the ammunition crates rather comfortable and returned there to nap each morning for a couple hours before heading back to bed. He was finally able to sleep when the rebels fired up ships to go off wherever. He wasn’t able to distinguish rumbles of different engines and it was a far cry from the screeching roar of Tie Fighters, but it lulled him into a sense of comfort even on the cold concrete. A good trooper prided themselves on being able to sleep anywhere, anytime. Finn just wasn’t a very good trooper in any other aspect.

He didn’t get much rest.

A curious beep woke him one very early morning and he lifted his head off his shoulder to stare at the enormous black photoreceptor of BB-8 peering at him. 

“Hey, buddy...” Finn greeted, chuckling sleepily as BB-8 moved its head as far forward as it could on its round body like it was trying to extend a neck it didn’t have.

“Oh, so that’s where my jacket went,” Poe’s voice called out nearby.

Finn lifted a hand to block out the bright sunlight so he could see Poe standing there in an orange jumpsuit with his arms crossed. He’d overslept and forgotten to return the jacket to Poe’s room. Like he’d been zapped by BB-8's probe, Finn hurriedly sat up and began pulling the sleeves down. Poe squatted beside him and lightly smacked his shoulder.

“It’s okay, keep it. It looks good on you.”

Finn’s face warmed under Poe’s smile and he reset the jacket over his broad shoulders after a moment of hesitation. 

“Listen, I have to go for a bit,” Poe began after a moment, looking back at the ships being refuelled. “Leia’s given us permission to knock the First Order down a peg.”

Finn frowned, eyeing up the pilots running back and forth in the quickly-livening hangar. “You’re going to fight them?”

“That’s our job, Finn.”

In the last few days, Finn had grown comfortable with the few people who dared interact with him. He hadn’t forgotten who they were or what they did, but he’d stamped down on it. The rebels were fighters, same as troopers minus the armour. If someone gave an order, they followed it without question. 

“I know, but... You only just got back-”

“And I’m getting itchy just standing around doing nothing. I need to be in the air, I need to fight. Look, BB-8's coming with me so you’ll be stuck with Rey until I get back.”

“How long?”

Poe shrugged. “It’s short distance, simple air assault. Not that long. Couple days at most. We’ve got to resupply too.”

The rundown didn’t make Finn feel any better. “Be careful, Poe.”

Poe smiled and nodded. “I’m always careful. We’ll be alright, we’ve done this sort of thing a hundred times now.” He glanced back at the pilots. “I need to go. I’ll see you when I’m back.”

He clapped Finn’s shoulder and stood up, making sure BB-8 was on his trail as he made his way to the black and orange X-Wing parked nearby. Of course, that one was his. His ship was fuelled and prepped quickly, and his connection to the other pilots tested. It wasn’t long before the engines fired up and Finn watched him and the other pilots skim out of the hangar. He stood to see them off among a crowd of rebels and stayed there until he saw them disappear against the grey sky.

* * *

“Alright, boys, keep close and watch out for those turrets,” Poe said into his comms as the planet of  Pasaana came nearer. 

It was all dust and sand, forgotten in the Expansion region between Vandor and Mimban. No one would’ve paid attention to the dry and barely-civilised planet but the mountains were filled with various metal ores. 

As soon as the mines came into view, Poe realised that their intel had been outdated. The mountains were being carved out by pulverisers but enormous holes had also been dug into the earth around them. The machinery scraping away rocks and sand could be spotted far in the distance.

“Black Leader, do we need to worry about those?” One pilot asked as Poe kept his distance to observe the main facility that had been quickly built to house the workers and supplies.

“I don’t think so. We’ll target the turrets and any ship they send after us. This place is more guarded than we thought.” Poe decided that they might as well make themselves known, if they hadn’t been spotted on any radars yet. “Alright, let’s light them up.”

He sped up, extending the wings for a quicker glide as he swooped across the front of the mines and fired on the artillery hastily set up. Only one blew up and the men below were instantly firing back. His squad rushed in to intercept the Tie Fighters joining the fray, while Poe dodged and weaved through the returned fire coming from below. Up close, the damage done to the mountains was impressive and frightening, and Poe tried to peer down into the chasms. Veins of metal seeped through the rock, all of it meant to be harvested to create more ships for the First Order. BB-8 beeped a warning before he got too distracted.

He glanced down at his radar and spotted a lone Tie closing in behind him. 

“I see him, buddy,” Poe replied to the droid. “Let’s have some fun.”

Poe suddenly swerved left into the hollowed-out mountain and nose-dived through the deep canyon, keeping an eye on the following ship. The steep rocks on either side were lined with equipment, some of them scraping against the tip of his wings. BB-8 watched the enemy maintain the course despite the flamboyant turns and dives. 

“BB-8, you see that walkway up ahead?”

The droid confirmed.

“I need you to shoot it when I tell you to, okay?”

Trusting its owner completely, the droid agreed and waited and suddenly the X-Wing turned upside down. BB-8 remained calm for Poe’s sake but its circuit-brain was panicking as it stared down the dark abyss.

“Now, BB-8!”

The droid fired the X-Wing's underside turret at the walkway and it crumbled and fell directly onto their persistent enemy, crushing the Tie Fighter under its weight. Flames reflected in BB-8's optics before the burning remains of the ship disappeared into the depths of the mountain.

“Nice one, buddy. Come on, let’s go help the others.”

Poe swooped lower to turn and double back, flying out of the entrance the right way up in time to shoot down another Tie Fighter tailing one of his squad members. 

“There you are, Poe!”

“How are we looking, boys?” He asked as he launched higher up into the air, reducing the aerial retaliation drastically. 

“I think we’re about done here. Couple of ground troops still shooting at us. Want me to take care of it?”

“Yeah, do it.”

Poe watched the red X-Wing beside him swoop down and strife the remaining troopers cowering behind the digging machinery. A couple minutes later, the blasts stopped and there was no one to fight back. The turrets were burning piles of twisted metal and wrecked Tie Fighters lay in the sand. 

“This should ruin their day. Alright, let’s find a place to land and see if there’s anything worth taking. We should hurry, just in case they sent a distress call.”

Poe set his ship down at the mouth of the mine and climbed out, clapping the shoulder of the nearest pilot. The mine itself wouldn’t be much use to the Resistance, not without the proper forges and skilled workers to handle the ores. He glanced at the remaining First Order ships used to move the supplies. They could easily be repurposed for troops.

“The General wants those transporters. Check them out, see if they’re any good.”

One of the newer recruits jogged towards Poe a few moments later. “Sir, they did call for reinforcements.”

“Alright, then let’s wrap this up. Take a transporter, we’ll check it out when we’re safe.”

“What about the rest?” 

Poe looked back towards the facility. The Resistance needed credits and basic supplies. Food was running low, especially on a barely-inhabited planet like Vandor with nothing to hunt. 

“How long until they reach us?” He asked, weighing his options.

“Not long, sir. Five minutes maybe. There’s a Destroyer in orbit of  Mimban , they’ll deploy from there.”

“Shit. Okay. Let’s just take the transporter and get out of here.” 

The pilot in charge of examining the ship fired it up in no time, leaving his Astromec to fly his X-Wing back to Vandor. Poe climbed back into his cockpit and led them out of orbit, just as he spotted First Order ships on his radar. They made a quick jump to hyperspeed before they could be caught.

Poe smacked the panel once he was in safe distance and sighed. Sure, the transporter was a good catch but it wouldn’t feed the two hundred-odd rebels stationed at the base. It wasn’t worth scrapping for credits either. The only thing worth the trip was denting the First Order’s endless weapon manufacturing.

* * *

Finn stared at the metal staff Rey held in her hands. It could twist and disconnect in the middle and she passed one part to Finn. 

“What am I supposed to do with this?” He asked, turning the strange short staff made of scrapped junk.

“Well, I’m not giving you a  lightsaber and you need to learn how to fight. I figured this would be better than picking dead branches out of the forest,” Rey explained as she stretched her arms and readjusted herself to the familiar weight of her old weapon. “I used this before Luke gave me my saber. I made it myself.”

“It’s nice?” He didn’t sound too convinced. “Look, no offence but I know how to fight.” 

Rey suddenly smacked his arm with the staff. 

“Ow! Stop that! Why  d’you do that?”

She raised a thin eyebrow in doubt. “Yes, I’m sure you know how to shoot a blaster but you-” She smacked him again and Finn was too slow to block it. “-Need to learn how to fight properly. A  lightsaber doesn’t shoot bolts, as awesome as that would be. Think of it as an extension of yourself.”

When she struck again, Finn held up his staff to block and pushed back against hers. She smiled.

“Better.”

After three gruelling hours, Finn was ready to collapse. His beige shirt was soaked in sweat despite the cold and his arms were begging him to stop and put down the staff. He wiped at his forehead and panted. Rey was almost in the same state and she’d discarded her jacket long ago, showing off powerful arms that made Finn feel grossly inadequate in comparison. Phasma would’ve loved her.

Rey swung again, slower from her exhaustion but still as merciless as when she’d begun her lesson. Finn blocked and Force-pushed her back carefully, making her boots skid across the snow. When she was far away enough, he switched from defending to attacking. What he had in physical strength, Rey matched in speed and agility. She ducked and dodged like it was a real life or death fight and when she’d had enough of letting Finn get the upper hand, she kicked his leg and knocked him down in the snow.

Finn would’ve argued but he was too tired and the coldness was helping cool his body. His shirt was ruined  anyways. Rey’s hand came into sight and he accepted her help to sit up.

“You’re doing better,” she said warmly, patting his shoulder. 

“I haven’t won once,” Finn retaliated with a scoff.

“No but you’ve improved. I think that’s enough for  today, I won’t make you do more.”

Finn closed his eyes and hung his head. “Oh, thank the stars for that. I can’t keep going.”

“You’ll have to work on your stamina too. I’ll get you running, that should help. And weight training. And-”

“Alright, alright. I get it, you’re a workout freak! You said we’re  _ done _ so let’s go back inside so we can shower and eat something, and stop talking about more torture.”

Rey shook her head to mask the laugh threatening to escape her. A shower sounded wonderful. She stepped aside so Finn could shakily get to his feet and took the second part of her staff to reconnect it. 

Once they were back inside, they parted at Poe’s door and Finn disappeared inside the small refresher to wipe all the dirt and grime off his skin. His arms were shivering from the intensity of their fight and he found his breathing finally evened out under the hot spray. He still didn’t have his own room and from what he’d seen, there wasn’t much place to put him. 

There was no issue with sharing the pilot’s room, he rather liked him, but he was bound to overstay his welcome soon. Especially if he kept borrowing Poe’s clothes almost every day. At least his shirts. Despite Finn being desperate to throw out his trooper uniform, it was incredibly useful on a snow planet and he’d sat down with it in his lap and picked off the emblem patches on his sleeves. Those had been burned away but the clothes remained intact, without any sort of faction attached to them. 

The armour was still on the Falcon. He didn’t want to go near it. 

A knock on the door distracted Finn from the reflection in the mirror.

“It’s Rey, can I come in?”

“Sure,” Finn called back out.

He heard the door open and walked out into the room, seeking out the clean shirt he’d left on the bed. Rey glanced away briefly out of respect but as Finn turned to the side, she focused on the ink tattooed into his dark skin.

“What’s that?”

“Huh?”

Rey came closer and reached out to brush her fingers just below his collarbone. Finn grabbed her hand and pulled it away.

“My designation  code . Everyone in the First Order has one. That way, if I lose any sort of identification like my helmet, they can pull up my records. It’s in case you’re injured.”

Rey knew he didn’t believe that was  its only purpose. “Why not give out tags?”

Finn shrugged. “I guess you can lose those too. I... I don’t like having it but it’s permanent.”

Rey nodded with a sympathetic and understanding smile. “You know, you can have it covered up. All sorts of colours too, not just boring black.” 

“I’d like that but I don’t have any money.”

“Doesn’t matter, I do. I never get to spend my credits. Let me help, please.”

Finn stared at her incredulously and broke into a grin. “You mean that?”

“Of course. I’d hate to be reminded too, if I was in your place. There’s a planet nearby,  Tynna . It’s like here, too cold, but maybe we can find someone to help. And if not, I could use some time away from here.” 

“I’m up for a trip. You sure they’d let us...” Finn knew there was no point sugar-coating anything to Rey. “Do you think the General would let me go with you?”

“Yes. Refugees and defectors come to us all the time, we don’t force them to stay here. If they want to leave, they leave. But you want to stay, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Then, no one will have a problem with it. And you’ll be with me. You couldn’t be safer.” Her smile was infectious and Finn found himself replicating it. She blushed and waved her hands in circles over his chest. “Now, could you please put on a shirt? This is all quite distracting.”

Finn flushed and nodded furiously as he grabbed Poe’s shirt and shoved it over his head, hiding the ink. Rey pulled up the chair and started messing around with the tools on Poe’s desk. Finn sat on the bed comfortably. He’d hoped to nap but Rey had come here for a reason, and from the slight frown on her face, she was working up to it.

It took her a while. Finn had begun to really settle down as his body ached for rest. He wanted to eat but not under the subjugation of dozens of rebel stares.

“Is Lord... Ren really that awful?” Rey asked out of the blue, when Finn was certain she’d never speak her mind. “What you said about him, was it true?”

Finn almost shrugged and played it off as curiosity but he looked over at her and noticed she was clenching her  saber in her hands. Her eyes were fixed on the wall ahead but she wasn’t reading any of Poe’s lists and memos stuck to the concrete.

“Yeah, it was. I saw him kill someone on  Jakku before he took Poe. I think he knew the guy, said stuff about Ren being a kid and something about coming back to the light.” Finn sat up. “Maybe Ren thought the guy would out him. He wears this helmet, don’t know if you’ve seen it. Never takes it off. Well, maybe not never, but nobody’s seen what he looks like except maybe Hux. But he’d never tell anyone. We had this bet going on-”

Rey drew in a sharp breath and straightened her back. She didn’t seem to appreciate his nonchalance so Finn stopped.

“The man he killed, was he elderly? Fair skin, white hair, quite tall.”

Finn frowned. “Yeah. I guess. It was night time and I wasn’t really looking at him. I was busy watching Ren. Everybody knows not to take their eyes off him. Why?”

Rey said nothing. Instead, she brought her  saber closer to her and tucked her knees under her chin.

“Rey?”

“Master Luke said he’d felt an old friend pass away far from here but I never thought he meant San  Tekka .” Rey turned to him. “He used to visit often, when Luke still taught. He knew Ren. We all did.”

“I’m sorry...”

She waved and shook her head. “It’s not your fault. I just... I’ve held on to the idea that there’s still hope for him. I didn’t think he’d go to such lengths.”

It was clear from her barely held-back tears that she didn’t know much about Lord Ren at all. At least, not for recent years. Finn kept his mouth shut about all the missions Ren had disappeared on, sent out like a hound and returning with bloody claws. It wasn’t a secret in the First Order just how terrifying and effective Ren was at killing. If it wasn’t Hux pointing him towards an enemy, it was the Supreme Leader. Even lowly janitors knew that much but clearly, it hadn’t reached the Resistance. Or maybe Rey hadn’t believed any of it.

“Did you know him well?” Finn asked gently.

“Yes... he was my friend.” She wiped her eyes even though her tears had stayed put and sniffed. “Sorry, I- I shouldn’t be bothering you with this.”

“No, it’s okay. Really. Look, why don’t you get some rest and when you’re feeling better, we can think about that trip?”

“I-” Rey wanted to argue that she was fine, that nothing was wrong. But Finn wasn’t Poe or Leia, or Master Luke. Her bravado meant nothing to a man like him, who was willing to be open and vulnerable. “Yeah. Okay. That sounds good. I’ll rest and then find us a ship. Maybe Han will let me take the Falcon for the day.”

She stood and fumbled to put away her  saber , smiling weakly as she left in a hurry. She didn’t want anyone to see her cry, not even Finn. As she flopped down on her  own bed , she put her face into her hands and willed herself to calm down. Mind tricks wouldn’t work but she grasped at the Force for something, anything that would help her not be consumed by a wave of fear and loneliness.

There was something there when she closed her eyes and made herself breathe slower, like a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. She knew from experience she’d see nothing, not in her room or in the darkness behind her eyelids, but it was there, warm and kind. After a while, she did feel better but she couldn’t rest. Instead, she sought out Han to borrow his freighter.

* * *

Armitage Hux hadn’t slept well, he rarely did, but he had hoped for one morning this week to start on a positive note. His daily schedule was chock full of meetings and inspections from the second he stepped out of his quarters bright-eyed, and returned late ready to pass out. Of course, none of his subordinates knew he mainly operated on three hours of sleep and enough caf to power a Tie, because he prided himself on the perfect mask he’d carefully crafted over the years.

Hux hadn’t even dressed himself completely, let alone eaten anything, when his morning already started badly. Lieutenant Mitaka meekly held out for him a damage report on his  datapad .

“What happened?” Hux asked as he gave up fighting the buttons of his shirt, leaving it half open, and took the thin screen, sitting down on the corner of his unmade bed. As he read quickly, he frowned and felt a headache coming on. “When?”

“Twenty minutes ago, sir,” Mitaka replied. He couldn’t help but notice a pink scar running beneath the General’s bare pectoral and glanced away when he realised he was staring down his superior’s shirt. Thankfully, Hux was too busy to notice or he simply didn’t care.

Suddenly, the Lieutenant stiffened like a board as something slipped past his leg. He looked down to see a tiny orange Loth-cat using him as a scratch post. Although his curiosity mounted up the longer he watched the pet, he knew better than to disrupt the General’s thought process.

“It’s a taunt, a flex of their non-existent power. They know the mines are useless to them and yet they attack it. This will put the new ships on hold for a while.”

“We could always  re-route our current supplies, sir.”

“Maybe.” Hux rubbed at his temples and handed back the datapad. “Someone will have to clean up the mess and reassign new workers. I’ll leave that in your hands, Dopheld.”

“Yes sir. But that’s not all. They stole a transporter.”

Hux shrugged, allowing himself to relax more around the timid officer than anyone else. Mitaka was more of a glorified personal assistant than a Lieutenant, and he seemed more than happy to stay onboard the comfort of Star Destroyers than get his hands dirty.

“One transporter means nothing. Write it off under damages.”

“Yes, of course, but sir, the transporters are tracked. In case our routes are ever disrupted, we installed a tracking beacon to retrieve them, even in hyperspace. The Resistance took it with them.” Mitaka loaded something up on his screen and turned it towards the General. “It’s heading to the Expansion Region. Would you like to send troops after it?”

Hux watched the dot blip on the map. They’d jumped but it wouldn’t be long before they landed. 

“Have you calculated their destination?”

“Vandor, sir. There’s an old Imperial base there but not much else.”

Finally, a silver lining to all this mess. Hux’s lips twitched into a barely-visible smile. 

“Let’s not send anybody,” he decided, much to Mitaka’s confusion. “If Organa’s chosen to hide there, we’ll destroy them. But we might as well get some target practice done. Is  it operational yet?”

Mitaka’s eyes widened and he nodded firmly. “The techs will have to run a final test but the weapon is complete, sir. We just need co-ordinates.”

“Excellent. Let me know when it’s all ready.”

“Yes, sir.” 

Mitaka inclined his head respectfully and stepped out of the General’s quarters, carefully navigating around the cat. When it had grown bored of trying to catch Mitaka’s leg between its claws, it returned to Hux and curled up on the bed he was trying to straighten. Just because droids could do it, didn’t mean Armitage had grown out of the habit from his academy days. He dressed and readied himself quickly, already running behind from the interruption, but when he walked out, he couldn’t help smiling in the privacy of the empty corridor. Right until he almost stepped directly into  Lord Ren’s stomping path. 

Ren was startled out of his thoughts and Hux tried to ease his face into something less joyful, even going as far as trying to look sour because Ren was blocking his way. But he just couldn’t.

“We have the location of the Resistance,” Hux stated proudly as he straightened his back. “A backwater planet named Vandor. Insignificant these days and soon to be dust.”

When Ren had gathered himself, he asked, “How?”

“The idiots stole one of our tracked ships.”

“It could be a trap.”

Hux’s joy dimmed a little. “You think so?”

“Perhaps. If the droid is on Vandor with them, you’ll destroy it too. And FN-2187.”

“Well, I-” Hux had been so caught up with the wonderful news he’d forgotten about Ren’s mission. He reined in his disappointment. 

“I’ll retrieve them first.” Ren moved to stand at Hux’s side and put a gloved hand on his shoulder, leaning in far too close for most people’s comfort. “And then you can turn them all to dust.”

Hux couldn’t help smirking even as a shiver ran down his spine. This day wasn’t so bad after all. Ren removed his hand and carried on with his course.


	5. Chapter 5

** Chapter 5 **

Han tugged at the panel of the Falcon’s turret console and tossed the metal aside as he turned a light on to peer into the mess of wires. He yanked at one of them and bit back a yelp as it shocked him. Pulling himself out from under the console, he looked up the ladder at Chewie.

“I thought you’d turned off the power!” 

Chewie murmured an apology and went to switch everything off. He growled when it was done, looming over Han curiously.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everything here looks alright.” Han flattened himself back into the small gap. “Oh, wait, there’s something loose. Alright, alright, fine, you were right.”

“Careful there, Han, don’t forget about your bad back.”

Han startled and smacked his head against the edge of the gap. He turned and glared up at Luke, hissing in pain as he rubbed the sore spot. 

“I don’t have a bad back,” he insisted, sitting up. 

“Then why do you make all those awful noises when you stand up? Admit like the rest of us that we’re no longer in our prime.” Luke smirked and sat down beside Chewie, letting his legs dangle down the ladder.

Han jabbed a pair of pliers in his direction. “No, you are past your prime. I’m just getting started.”

“Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that. I’m still far younger. So, what are you doing down there anyways? Certainly not cleaning for once in your life.”

“Chewie was complaining his targeting system was shortening out. Must’ve just loosened up over  time. It’s fixed now. Feel free to thank me any time.”

Chewie grumbled a lazy thanks and Luke chuckled.

“How long are you staying, Han? It’s been a few days, you usually hightail it out before the week is up.”

Han shrugged and reset the panel, screwing it back in and switching off his light. “Maybe I don’t want to leave so soon.”

“Running out of prey to swindle?”

“Something like that. I just...” He paused and glanced up at Luke. “I miss her. And she’s wrung-out. I can see it, even if she hides it from everyone else.”

“We have to keep fighting.”

“I know. But it’s all we’ve ever done. Tell me honestly, Luke, have you ever thought about... not fighting? We’ve always had the possibility to run, find somewhere we can actually settle down and not risk our lives anymore.”

Luke crossed his arms, ready to give out his usual rousing speech he gave to Leia’s troops about strength and perseverance, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie to his best friends. Chewie sensed the change in him and patted his back.

“It’s tempting sometimes, I suppose. But if we don’t fight, who will?”

“Why does it have to be our problem anymore? We fought the Empire, let someone else do the shooting this time. But, I know that Leia would never accept that. She’ll risk everything to win, which... is why I don’t want to leave her right now.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t want you to leave either. Eight months is a long time. Before that, it was a year.”

Han had the decency to look ashamed. He’d chalked it up to swindling money for the cause but Leia knew he’d delayed returning. He probably would’ve stayed on  Jakku for a while longer if Poe hadn’t shown up.

“Rey needs you.” After a brief moment, Luke quietly added, “I need you.”

“She’s an adult, she doesn’t need me.”

Luke rolled his eyes fondly. “You know how much she looks up to you.”

“Clearly she’s got terrible judgement.”

“Or you’re not as bad as you think you are. Stop moping, the girl adores you and I know you feel the same. Spend more time with her.”

Han frowned. “She doesn’t need someone like me around her. I failed my first child, I’m not failing her too.”

“You haven’t failed anyone and you never will.”

Han didn’t believe him one bit, no matter how many times they had this conversation. Luke blamed himself just as much, and all it ever amounted up to was shifting blame around. Luke suddenly perked up and looked over his shoulder.

“I think she’s coming here.” Chewie growled and Luke shook his head. “It’s not creepy, I can just sense her. Now, I’ll leave you both alone.” Luke got up with a groan and winked down at Han. “At least I’m willing to admit I have a bad back.”

Han shooed him away and rolled his eyes, and looked over to Chewie. “I’m  gonna need to get out, buddy.”

As he made his way back around to the cockpit, he heard light footsteps on the ramp and waited until Rey saw him. She stopped short and smiled. This time, Han was ready for her bone-crushing hug but there was something extra sweet in her smile.

“I don’t like that look,” he warned as she stepped back and hugged Chewie. 

“What look?”

“That look. The look that tells me you want something.”

“I don’t  _ want _ anything.” She smiled sheepishly and tilted her head to the side. “Well, I was going to ask very nicely if you could help me with something.”

Han crossed his arms. “There it is. Go on, but if you’re going to ask me for a ship again, the answer’s no.”

She shook her head dramatically. “No, never. When you say no, I respect that.”

“Uh huh.” Even Chewie looked doubtful.

“You know Tynna?”

“Yeah, scrappy little planet. Survived a lot of bad luck. Why?”

“Could you fly Finn and I there?”

Han sighed and glanced up to the ceiling. He needed to repaint badly, he annoyingly realised as he couldn’t help noticing all the rust and flaky paint.

“So the trooper’s decided to run after all, huh? Can’t blame him.”

“No, no, it’s not that!”

Han smiled sympathetically and rubbed her shoulder. “It’s okay, kid. The Resistance’s no place for-”

“I want to do something nice for him,” Rey interrupted. “He’s not trying to run. I figured he could use a treat  _ and _ he’s been learning very fast  _ and _ he listens to me.  Tynna’s still a nice enough place, right?”

“Oh... Yeah, it’s decent again under the New Republic rule.”

“Awesome, can we go now?”

“Now?!” Rey’s sweet smile returned and Han was weak to it. “Fine. Go get him and we’ll head off. Leia knows, right?”

“Luke does.”

Han rolled his eyes.

“And I was thinking you’d drop us off.”

“How long’s this trip?”

Rey shrugged. “I want to explore a bit.”

“Alright, but you watch yourself out there. Lutris isn’t really a place for ki-” Han gulped under her sudden unimpressed look. “-People your age. There’s a lot of gambling and drinking there and-”

“All fun things according to you. Don’t worry, Han, I’ll be alright. Let me get Finn.” She winked and jogged out of the cockpit, smiling to herself.

Han turned to Chewie. “Has she always been like this?” Chewie nodded with a mumble. “And  exactly _ who _ does she remind you of? No, actually, don’t tell me.”

Chewie waited until Han went to check the fuel tanks to grumble his answer, though Han heard him clearly and rolled his eyes. She was nothing like him. 

* * *

“I thought you’d want to go tomorrow. Or the next day. Poe’s not back yet,” Finn stated as Rey led him out of the base and back into the freezing cold air. He’d barely been asleep for an hour when she’d knocked on his door again, practically bouncing on her toes.

“He won’t be for a while. Don’t worry about it. This is just for us.” 

When Finn hesitated to step onto the Falcon, she took his hand and pulled him along. He looked down at their joined hands as she dragged him all the way to the cockpit, where Han was watching them with a frown.

“ So. Tynna . Strap in, it won’t take us that long.”

Finn wanted to make a comment on the distance but when he glanced around at all the tech packed into the small cockpit, he wondered how fast this  junker could move. He’d heard the tales and he hadn’t cared much the last time he’d been onboard, but now he had a view of the sky and he grew curious.

He sat behind Han, only so the old man couldn’t turn and look at him. It was childish but he still gave Finn the creeps, especially when he frowned so much at him. Rey sat opposite but she watched in fascination as Han received clearance and lifted the Falcon up. 

Finn had seen the stars pass by the viewports of Star Destroyers but he’d never once seen a ship pierce through the sky like a spear. He sat back and stared up through the  transparisteel at the bolts of lights flying around the ship.

“Whoa...” He found himself saying, not to anybody in particular. Han glanced over his shoulder but it was Rey who smiled at him.

“Can you fly?” She asked.

“No. Only the best  get taught to fly.” He looked away from the stars to her face. She seemed a lot calmer with the lull of engines to soothe her thoughts. “I worked in sanitation for most of my shifts. Not very exciting.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t learn now.” She nodded towards Han, who was doing a poor job of pretending like he wasn’t listening in. “Han taught me everything there is about flying. I could fly the Falcon with my eyes closed.”

“In theory,” Han interrupted, “certainly not in practice.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing quite like it. Master Luke tried to teach me too but he’s  kinda awful at it. Once he’s in pilot mode, he can’t focus on anything else.”

“I’ll never understand how he managed back then. Luke couldn’t get this baby off the ground if the manual was glued to his hand.” Han shook his head like he was reliving a nightmare, possibly one that involved Luke in the pilot seat of the Falcon.

“That’s because you’ve got a hundred different parts that aren’t in the manual,” Rey added with a laugh. 

Finn felt comfortable letting them talk without contributing. He’d lived most of his life being ignored by his fellow men or officers. He sat back and watched the stars fly by, half listening to their conversation. He was worried about Poe, about whether the pilot was alright.

Eventually his train of thought was cut when  Tynna blipped onto the radar and Han pulled out of hyperspace. The sudden change shocked Finn and he felt a little queasy as the Falcon slowed. At least he had a lovely view to focus on.  Tynna was a snowy planet but instead of grey mountains stretching for miles, it was covered in lush hills and forests. He could spot the city they’d be landing in quickly, full of towering skyscrapers and expensive ships taking up most of the air traffic. The Falcon looked immensely out of place among the glistening shuttles and cruisers. 

Han found a quiet landing pad and Rey looked ready to sprint out before he’d fully cleared his descent with the Lutris air controllers. From what Finn could see of the streets around them, there would be plenty to see and do. He felt nervous taking his first step outside and tried to ignore it, knowing he was free here and nobody knew him. No one could see the markings on his chest or tell he could make objects float. 

Rey shared his excitement but she was interested in being away from home and her family, rather than experiencing something entirely new and foreign. As she thanked Han and Chewie for their help, Finn put on a brave face and observed the street full of merchants.

It was cold and snowflakes drifted in the weak breeze but no one seemed to mind. Humans and non-humans were all dressed to combat the cold and Finn was grateful he’d grabbed his insulating uniform before leaving. He fisted his gloved hands in Poe’s jacket pockets and shivered lightly.

Rey came to his side a couple minutes later, wrapping a long grey coat around herself. It criss-crossed over her chest in complicated layers and was held together by multiple black leather belts, one of which she hung a small bag from. Undoubtedly, her  saber was hidden inside. She blended in better with the crowd than Finn in his borrowed jacket and stooped posture. Behind them, the Falcon started lifting off and Rey waved goodbye as if Han could see her. She turned back to Finn and smiled.

“So, the city’s ours for the taking? Where would you like to go first?”

Finn shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought you were leading.”

She frowned in confusion and shook her head with a good-natured smile, and hooked her arm with his. “We’re in this together. I’ve never been here before. You pick which direction.”

Finn stared down the many streets that spanned away from the landing pad. Many were covered in stalls and filled with chattering crowds. 

“I still haven’t eaten,” he mumbled. 

“Then let’s get some food.”

It was so simple and yet  it amazed Finn that he was allowed to choose where to go. He’d never had such freedom before and although he felt incredibly anxious picking a street and trying to find a place to eat, he’d never felt happier. 

After some searching, they found a small place that served weird dishes neither of them could pronounce. But the food was good and they could walk around the city while eating. He didn’t ask how long they’d be staying, not even when it started getting dark and Rey hunted down a hotel for the night. She paid for everything without batting an eye and Finn didn’t ask where she’d gotten so much money from, though he leaned towards Han’s ill-gained swindling as an answer. Neither of them counted the hours passing by and little by little, Finn grew more confident.

* * *

The bridge was lively with comm-chatter as the techs relayed all necessary information back and forth, and Hux watched it all happen with his gloved hands joined together behind his back. He’d waited for this moment for a long time and containing himself took effort. Ren’s metallic breathing arrived at his side and he turned his head to look up to the blacked-out visor. 

“We’re ready,” Hux stated simply, though his words weighed heavily.

“Good. You keep the Resistance occupied and I’ll deal with the rest. Pull out your troops when I tell you.”

Hux scoffed. “I would not leave them down there.”

Ren was about to turn when Hux held him in place with a hand to his arm. It was a risky move and yet Ren sensed no fear in the General. For a brief moment, he expected another fight, something to dig at his methods or his ways. Instead, Hux maintained his steady gaze and said, “Good hunting.”

Ren nodded and waited until the General had dropped his hand and slipped back into that statue-like posture before walking off the bridge. Without Ushar to fight, Ren was more aware of the dwindled number of Knights in the shuttle with him. He occupied himself with the controls of his ship and tried to ignore them sat in the back. In the hangar beside him, several troop transporters were loading up.

Down on Vandor, Leia watched the grey sky suddenly fill with three Star Destroyers. The alarms blared around her loudly as she encouraged her troops back inside. At her side, Poe’s eyes widened in fear.

“Do you want us in the air?” He asked, looking back the freshly landed X-Wings. They hadn’t been followed, he’d made sure. How could they have found them? 

“No. Not yet. If it comes down to it, then yes, but for now, let’s defend this pile of rubble without risking our ships.”

Lines after lines of white soldiers spilled out of the transporters, encircling the front of the base. They didn’t fire on the Resistance fighters eager to fight back from behind hastily-made barricades. They were waiting and it only made Leia more nervous as she watched from the safety of the command room.  A black shuttle landed among them as they cleared a space, its two black wings folding upwards like spires. Ren could sense the fear from both sides before he stepped down the ramp and onto the fresh snow, his Knights closely behind him.

A bolt suddenly fired from a nervous rebel and Ren caught it mid-air, letting it hover for a moment before tossing it aside. It hit and scorched a rock, sending sparks flying. The rebels watched in silence, expecting a retaliation, but Ren confidently strode forwards.

“Stand down. No one here has to die. I only wish to speak to General Organa,” Ren explained as he showed his open palms as a sign of peace. “My men will not attack you.”

Among the rebels, Poe stood with his blaster in hand and a comms unit in his ear. He eyed Ren warily and prayed Leia knew what she was doing. He turned to a woman near the door panels and nodded, appreciating her hesitance in opening the doors. Poe stepped around the barricade and came up to Ren, willing himself not to shrivel up under the terrifying mask. He held out his hand.

“Your  lightsaber . Consider it a sign of trust.”

Ren chuckled and tilted his head but he reached for his  saber . When he dropped it into Poe’s palm, the pilot quickly wrapped his fingers around the cold metal. It was heavier than he expected. After a beat, Poe nodded and gestured for Ren to follow. The Knights followed too.

“They are at my command,” Ren casually stated. “Have no fear. They will not harm you or your princess.”

Poe was certain he wasn’t going to get a hold of their weapons. They had  sabers on their belts, some more than one, but Poe was just as worried about the swords and lances a couple carried on their backs. Walking armouries, all of them. He understood Finn’s fear more the longer they were behind him, like looming shadows.  He noticed, mostly to distract himself from the rising fear, that while his boots echoed on the concrete, the Knights were silent. He could hear fabric rustling and metal scraping but not their footsteps or their breathing. 

Before he reached the command room, Poe had to know something.

“How did you find us? Why now?”

Ren chuckled again and the noise grated on Poe’s ears. “If I told you, you wouldn’t make the same mistake again.” He seemed to enjoy torturing Poe but eventually he grew bored. “ _ You _ stole something that belongs to the First Order.”

Poe was certain his heart had given out. He felt his blood freeze in his veins and although he couldn’t see Ren’s face, he knew there was a mocking smile behind the mask. It was all his fault. Poe had done this. He barely realised they’d reached the command room. Ren didn’t wait for his brain to catch up, he opened the door and slipped inside, leaving Poe staggered and weak-kneed.

Leia had watched the camera feed through the halls of the base but she still wasn’t prepared to see Lord Ren enter. She was sat at the head of the table, her hands linked together as she waited. When he saw her, Ren stopped  short.

“This wasn’t the reunion I had hoped for but it’s something I suppose,” Leia began, gesturing for Ren to sit. She glanced up at the Knights around him as they filled the room and blocked the exit.

Once he’d gotten over his initial shock, Ren spotted Luke in the corner of the room. 

“This is between her and I. Not you.”

“I’m not foolish enough to leave you both alone,” Luke replied coldly, leaning against a wall but fully ready to attack if need be. “Especially with your friends. What’s the matter,  Kylo ? Afraid you can’t take me on alone?”

Ren snarled and reached for his  saber , only to remember the pilot had it just outside. No matter, he could fight without it. Leia raised her hand up to silence them both.

“That’s enough, both of you.” She looked up to Ren. “Why did you come here?”

“You have something that belongs to me. A stormtrooper. FN-2187.”

Leia shrugged and leaned back in her chair. “I don’t have troopers here.”

“He escaped with  Dameron , surely he must have come up in conversation.”

“Sure, Poe escaped and came home. That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know any troopers.”

Ren was getting tired of her word play. He rounded the table and sat down beside her.

“Perhaps he goes by another name now. He was spotted leaving on a  Corellian freighter. I’m sure you can guess which one. Tell me.” 

Leia sighed and turned bodily towards Ren, pulling her hands into her lap. She looked small and frail but Ren knew better than to underestimate the princess. 

“If you’re so sure it was the Falcon, why don’t you go and ask Han?”

Ren felt her words like a cold slap. “Where is the trooper?”

“I don’t know.”

As Ren felt his patience thinning, he spotted a small cylinder next to one of the control panels. He stood to grab it but it flew off the desk to land in Luke’s hand. 

“That also belongs to me.”

“I don’t see your name on it,” Luke snapped back, clutching it tightly. 

Ren raised his hand and Leia suddenly wheezed. Luke’s  saber ignited instantly, only to be met with the Knights igniting their red blades too. 

“Give it to me,” Ren insisted, his fingers closing  bit by bit. He didn’t look down at Leia, he couldn’t watch her struggle for air.

“You’re sick. You’re nothing but a monster.”

“You’re so very right.”

Leia’s hand landed on  Ren’s arm and he loosened his grip on her throat. She was pleading him with her eyes but Ren refused to look away from Luke.

“Give... it to him, Luke,” she strained.

Luke hesitated for a moment before his shoulders slumped and he held out the device. It was yanked out of his palm and landed in Ren’s. Once it was safely in his grasp, he completely let go of Leia and she clutched at her throat and gulped in deep breaths.

“We’re done here,” Ren announced as he ignored Leia. His Knights stood down and followed him out of the command room.

As he passed by  Dameron , he grabbed his  saber from the pilot’s hands harshly and found his way back outside. The rebels were undecided between who to aim at as Ren walked over to his shuttle. Just as he stepped foot on the ramp, he heard the familiar sound of the Falcon landing just beyond the trees to his left.

“Wait for me here,” he told his Knights before heading towards the noise.

He kept his distance from the Wookie closing the ramp and waited for the coast to be clear before approaching the ship. She was in the same state he’d last seen her, held together by scraps and sheer dumb luck. He punched the button for the ramp and walked up into the cargo bay, his hand trailing along the narrow corridors as he made his way through the rooms. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular but nonetheless, he peered into every doorway. 

That’s when he saw a discarded set of white armour. So the trooper had been onboard after all. He wandered away towards the cockpit and hesitated before sitting down in the pilot’s seat, fondly stroking the various levers and buttons. Feeling claustrophobic under the helmet and hood, he pulled back the dark fabric and pressed at two small latches beneath the jawline. The metal hissed and loosened so he could pull it off. He shook his black hair free and set the helmet down in his lap.

He could fly this  junker with his eyes closed.

“I know you won’t pull that trigger,” Ren said without looking back after his shoulder. 

“Why are you here?” Han asked as he weighed his blaster before finally holstering it. “Why did I have to sneak past a blockade to land?”

“I came for what belongs to me. It took some convincing but General Organa was very helpful. But I’m still missing something essential.”

Han frowned and glanced away. “Don’t call her that.”

“She refuses to call me by my chosen name. Why shouldn’t I offer the same treatment?” 

“We gave you that name.”

Ren scoffed and chuckled darkly. “No, you gave me a burden and too many expectations.”

“Did you hurt her?”

“No,” he lied, resting one elbow on the arm rest. “FN-2187. His armour is still here. Where is he?”

“I thought the First Order didn’t care about defectors. Aren’t they all replaceable? Isn’t that what your leader Hux tells everyone?”

“Hux is not my leader. He’s more of a loyal dog. But this FN-2187 is special. I need him.” 

Ren tucked the long strands of hair behind his ears and carefully placed the helmet back on. He gave one last look to the console, smiling behind the metal, and stood to his full height. Han flinched back a step. 

“In fact, he’s incredibly special to me and I’d very much like to find him. Where is he?”

Han shrugged. “People like him come and go all the time. I stopped keeping track years ago.”

“You never were a convincing liar. I don’t intend on harming anyone here. Just tell me where he is and I will leave, and my men will never come back.”

Han tried to see his eyes through the visor but all he saw was his own reflection, withered and tired of fighting. 

“Promise me you will not harm anybody.” Han glanced away for a moment and then back up to Ren. “I know why you’re after him. He’s like you and Luke.”

“I promise. I only want the trooper.”

“Lutris.”

“Thank you.” Ren began to walk away towards the cargo bay.

Han nodded weakly and watched him go. “You keep your promise, do you hear me?”

Ren stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of the Star Destroyers in orbit. He looked back to Han.

“When my men leave, evacuate the base.”

“Why? You said you wouldn’t harm anyone!”

“It’s not me you have to worry about. Leave quickly. If any part of you still trusts me, you will run as fast you can.”

Ren turned away and went back to his shuttle, firing it up to return to the  _ Finalizer _ . He watched the rebels below scramble quickly inside. It was up to them now. He had everything he needed. He waited for the comms to connect. Hux’s voice passed through before he appeared, in his own shuttle. 

“Was the mission successful?” The General asked, his image wavering as his shuttle jumped out of hyperspace. 

“I have the device and the location of FN-2187. I’ll send a squadron to capture him.”

“Excellent. Will you be joining me?”

Ren shook his head. “No. I’ll watch from the ship.”

“Suit yourself. I imagine the fireworks will be extraordinary from up close.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“We’re landing. I’ll reach you before it begins. I wouldn’t want you to miss my greatest achievement.”

Ren said nothing as Hux cut off the connection. He concentrated on landing onboard the  _ Finalizer _ smoothly. They’d soon be pulling out of orbit to a safer distance but for now, they were watching Vandor closely. If Han had managed to get past them, the others could too. 

* * *

Poe didn’t wait a single second before running into the command room to Leia’s side. Her hand was busy massaging her throat but she looked up at Poe with a fake, shaky smile. 

“I need you to get Rey and Finn back here right away,” she croaked. Luke rushed to her with a glass of water and gently stroked her back. “They’re in Lutris, on Tynna. We need every fighter we’ve got.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're a third of the way through! I hope everyone's enjoying this so far! let me know in the comments!


	6. Chapter 6

** Chapter 6 **

Just because they were meant to be on what Rey called a spontaneous holiday, didn’t mean she planned to put a hold on Finn’s training. She’d had food delivered to their shared room and ate while she watched him. The staff downstairs had given Rey an odd look for asking for two beds and so had Finn. He hadn’t expected her to share with him though perhaps it was more cost-effective. He felt a little nervous about sharing with a woman but Rey hadn’t batted an eye. But no amount of discipline or patience could distract him from the view of the city sprawled beyond the tall windows. Rey had turned on a small lamp by her bedside but the buildings across from them provided most of the lights. It was stunning and very, very distracting. 

“I was thinking we could head back the day after tomorrow,” Rey said around a mouthful of green rice. Despite being raised alongside an elegant princess, all manners were thrown aside when Rey wasn’t being watched closely. She ate with her hands and stained everything. Finn threw her a napkin. “In the morning, we can find someone for you. I noticed a few shops along the main road. Seems like you can just walk in.”

“You’ll come with me, right?”

Rey looked up from her meal and nodded eagerly. “Of course! Might get myself one. Master Luke would freak out but in a good way, I think. I  _ hope _ .”

Finn was grateful for her enthusiasm. She made it seem so easy when to Finn, it was agony to think about it. He wasn’t looking forward to showing a stranger his code, let alone seeing their reaction to what he was. He needed Rey’s reassurance and clung to it.

“Did you want to go for a walk? When you’re done eating,” he added, though her meal was quickly disappearing from her plate. 

“Sure. It’s pretty out here. I miss being out and about. Last three, maybe four, years, we’ve been hiding from  planet to  planet trying to avoid the First Order. They’ve gotten close but they haven’t caught us yet.”

“You can’t let them catch you.” Finn shuffled closer and put his hand on her elbow. “No matter what.” 

She held his gaze for a moment and tore away to finish eating. It didn’t take long at the speed she inhaled food and once she’d cleaned herself up, she was more than happy to walk outside under the gentle snowfall. Finn held out his arm and she took it with a smile, clinging to him for warmth. 

“You know, before all of this,” Finn began after some time spent in comfortable silence, “I had never seen snow before.”

“Really? Never?”

He shook his head. “The place where I was raised, it always rained in the winter. It wasn’t cold enough for snow and in the summer, it was blazing hot. Never really stepped foot on a planet for years either. I forgot what the wind felt like.”

Rey moved her hand down to his own and squeezed comfortingly. “As your mentor, I’ll make it my goal to show you all the wonderful places in the  galaxy . I haven’t seen that much either, if I’m being honest. Master Luke never lets me out of his sight and nowadays, Han isn’t around to fly me to new places. I barely managed to convince him to let me go with you.”

“They all seem very... preoccupied.”

“Can you blame them? We’re at war. I don’t care if the New Republic calls it a cold war. War is war. And Luke is training me to defend myself for when they come for us.”

“The First Order doesn’t take prisoners, Rey,” Finn reminded gently.

They found a path that cut away from the still-busy streets, lit up by lanterns and vibrant neon signs.  Tynna had bounced back to its original  splendor , as far as it was possible with the remnants of the Empire still scorched into the land. Most of the wealth had returned over time and it showed.  But just because the Empire had lost its grip, didn’t mean the First Order had failed to seep into the cracks left behind. 

Finn heard the familiar sound of stormtrooper comms and suddenly shoved Rey into a gap between buildings.

“Hey-!” Finn clamped a hand over her mouth as she glared up in surprise. Her face flushed bright red. He turned his back to the street in time as the troopers walked by, blasters in hand. Her eyes grew wide and she stopped fighting him. When they were gone, Finn took his hand away,

“I’m sorry about that but they’ll be looking for me. Defectors don’t live long if they’re not careful.”

Rey shook her head and stepped back. She watched the troopers move around a corner, a strange expression on her face.

“It’s okay, just scared me. Let’s go back to the hotel.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Once they were in the safety of their room, Finn sighed and quickly drew the curtains closed and sat down on his bed. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think they’d be all the way out here,” Rey apologised as she stood beside him and stroked his shoulder.

“It’s not your fault. The sooner I have this code inked over, the safer I will be. They’ll forget my face in time but not my designation.” Finn rubbed his face. “I’m  gonna wash up.”

“Okay.”

He stood with a groan and shut the door to the refresher behind him. He didn’t look down at the ink on his chest.

When he stepped back out half an hour later, the room was empty.

“Rey?”

No answer.

Maybe she’d gone to find something else to eat. He sat down on his bed again but there was a note on the pillow beside Rey’s bag . As soon as he read it, he crumpled it and yanked his jacket on before storming out of the room in search of Rey.

* * *

Stormtroopers had amassed by the dozen, scouring the quiet streets. Rey didn’t need to go far to find a couple of them patrolling the main road they’d been walking around earlier. She swallowed the rising anxiety in her chest as she convinced herself she’d made the right choice. With her  lightsaber easily reachable on her belt, she closed her eyes and steadied herself. She’d hoped to feel a warm hand on her shoulder but she was completely alone in her task. Rey jogged up to the troopers from behind. They stopped abruptly and looked down over their shoulders at her.

“Hello there! Sorry to bother you.”

“Move along, girl.”

Rey sighed as they carried on walking, and she quickly went around them. Two blasters were raised towards her face.

“I said move along.”

She raised her hand and waved it across. “You will take me to Kylo Ren.”

“We will take you to  Kylo Ren,” the two troopers repeated blandly. 

They began walking again and Rey hovered beside them, her steps becoming steadier the closer she got to one of the parked shuttles. As long as she was careful, she would be fine. There were more troopers closer to the landing bay, guarding it. Just as she got onboard and strapped in, a blast fired and shot down a soldier by the raising ramp. From her angle, she couldn’t see what had caused the commotion and her ship began preparing to lift-off.

“What’s going on out there?” She demanded to the pilot but they weren’t looking at her. “Tell me!”

“Just a skirmish, I’m sure. Sit back, this will take time.”

Reminded of her mission, Rey sighed and leaned back. There was nothing she could do to help now. She only hoped Finn would understand and forgive her. She needed to see Ren and Finn had told her exactly where to find him, and Rey knew she’d never get a better chance. If he was smart, he’d get that code inked over in the morning and comm for Han at the landing bay when he was ready. She’d left him enough credits to survive just fine.

Rey closed her eyes as the ship jumped.

“Where is it we’re going?” She asked.

“To  Kylo Ren.”

That wasn’t what she meant but she couldn’t care less where they landed, as long as she’d get to see him. The inside of the transport was spartan and dull so she tried to meditate on the way there.

Onboard a similar transporter, Finn was unconscious and shackled under the watchful gaze of his old brothers in arms. Poe’s vision blurred from the blood streaming down his face, the sharp sting of a rifle connecting with his head made the floor sway. At least he’d secured Finn.

* * *

The dawn has yet to break over the peaks of the surrounding mountains. Long shadows cast over thousands of amassed troopers and officers, all lined up beside rows of newly built machines of war. They stood  pristine and silent in front of a large stage. The crimson flags of the First Order hung down the steep walls of the fortress behind it, gently waving in the breeze. 

General Hux observed the gathered forces for a moment. To say he was proud would be an understatement. He’d given his whole life to be here, every second dedicated to furthering the strength and power of his army. His commanders were in a row behind him, men and women just as ferocious and devoted as he was. High above, Resurgent-class Star Destroyers hovered within the stratosphere.

He walked closer to the edge of the crowd and spoke, his voice amplified across the masses.

“We have devoted our lives, our blood, for this very moment. Today we will bring an end to injustice, to disorder and chaos. We will be the hand that guides the  galaxy into a new era. Today we avenge those who sacrificed themselves so that we may survive. This tempestuous machine which you have tirelessly built will cleanse this world of the treasonous Senate and their wretched Resistance. The dawn will not rise on the Republic.”

He looked over his shoulder at his men and nodded firmly. The silence hung heavy in the air and then a deafening rumble shook the ground. Snow dislodged and fell, and the masses turned in shock to look as a red glow burned in the distance. It wasn’t the sun rising over the planet but the power of one grown deep within the artificial core. The light expanded across the horizon and a pillar of red energy shot up from the heart of the weapon. 

Hux forced himself to watch, though he flinched at the high-pitched hum of the blast. Those without visors covered their eyes, and a few troopers broke their lines as they stumbled back in awe. It would be excused this time, simply because everyone was too distracted watching the light as it continuously blasted up through the atmosphere. The heat could be felt miles away and anything near the reactor but outside of its shields was obliterated in an instant.

The beam stopped but its energy kept moving, shooting straight through space and destroying anything in its path. It could be seen from the far reaches of the  galaxy , like a blazing comet breaking apart, as it split into several beams. Ren watched it from the safety of the  _ Finalizer’s _ command deck.

Onboard the transporter, Rey was sat in the co-pilot's seat beside the silent trooper. She couldn’t see his face but it was likely he was as frightened and shocked as she was. Her throat produced no sound as she saw the beams separate towards the Hosnian System. 

On Prime itself, the people stood in awe of the red light coming their way like another sun had pierced through the night sky. Korr Sella watched from the balcony of her room and knew she’d never seen General Organa again. There was nothing they could do as it impacted, breaking through the mantle to destroy the planet’s core. Overpowered with heat and pressure,  Hosnian Prime imploded within seconds, reducing the Republic’s stronghold to dust and debris. No shields could’ve stopped it. 

The entire system was destroyed and silenced. The war had been officially declared and won with a single assault. 

But it wasn’t over. The weapon still had one blast left and General Hux gave one final signal to fire. He savoured this one even more.

Rey was certain she had no tears left as the transporter came closer to the planet-sized weapon. The men stationed there were well trained but some could not handle watching it happen again and turned away. 

On the edge of the Expansion Regions, Vandor became unmade. Anything in its vicinity was incinerated from existence. The targets were nothing but smouldering ash, red specks in the far distance that declared to the  galaxy that the First Order had won. No one would dare oppose such a weapon. The Resistance and the New Republic were destroyed.

* * *

Rey slumped back in the co-pilot's seat in silence, her eyes glued to the approaching icy planet and its circular core. A deep trench had been carved along the surface, filled with machines and heavily guarded by patrolling warships. In the centre of the chasm was the barrel of the superweapon and as the transporter came closer, she tried to peer into its darkness. The metal was still burning white from the final blast. 

She swallowed the lump in her throat and asked the trooper, “What is this place?”

“ Starkiller ,” he answered simply before he received a transmission from the planet. Rey hardly listened to the chatter as the trooper confirmed codes and checks before diving deeper.

They flew close to the weapon but carried on towards the snow-covered mountains. Rey was quickly beginning to hate snow. Hidden deep in the safety of towering peaks, what looked like an entrance to the base stuck out of the frozen landscape. A landing platform was perched on the edge of a jagged cliff, large enough to carry at least a hundred Tie Fighters back to back, and nestled against the mountain slope were tall walls of ferrocrete decorated with First Order flags. 

The platform was clear now, only occupied by patrols and occasional ships. All traces of the frightening assembly were gone, the footprints in the snow melted away.  The transporter landed smoothly in a designated spot and as the pilot turned its engines off, Rey had never felt so scared in all her life. But within that fear, she gathered up what little courage she had and took a deep breath. She looked at the trooper, who was staring at her emotionlessly.

“You should get out of here,” Rey told him, waving her hand. “Leave this place and be your own person.”

The trooper didn’t move. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I am loyal to the First Order.”

She waved her hand again. “You’re loyal only to yourself. Seek freedom.”

He tensed and briskly nodded. Rey could only hope he’d see sense and escape while he still could. She reached to pat his shoulder but thought better at the last moment, before she went to the back and opened the ramp. The wind blew freezing air against her legs and she wrapped her coat tighter around herself as she looked towards the base. 

Ren had to be here somewhere. She just had to find him.

* * *

The officers’ hall had been lively with celebration and unregulated amounts of alcohol moments prior to Lord Ren interrupting them. The assembled commanders and captains stopped and stared at him over the bubbly rims of their glasses and the congratulatory cheering briefly paused.

He didn’t care about them. Edging around the sides of the room, Lord Ren made his way over to the General and waited for his entourage to disperse. As they parted, mostly to get away from Ren’s unnerving presence looming over them, he was finally given the chance to speak. But Hux beat him to it.

“You’re scaring off my peers, Ren. How am I supposed to gloat my victory if no one is there to listen?” 

“You’ve been drinking,” Ren pointed out. The General’s glass was almost empty and it was not his first of the day.

“Of course, did you not see what I just accomplished?” Hux took Ren’s elbow and pulled him aside to a quieter corner, where he allowed himself to smile. “All the doubt, the questions, the impossible physics of it all- It worked. I know we tested it already but this is... it’s-”

“Miraculous?”

“Ha, no! Miracles suggest chance. This was not luck. Snoke may take the credit for funding  Starkiller but she is mine, down to the bolts and screws. Mine.” Hux raised his glass and chugged the rest. “Want some? No, I suppose you’d refuse to be seen acting like a human even just once.”

“I didn’t come here to listen to your drunken ramblings, General.” Ren reached deep into his pocket and procured the data drive. “I came to give you this in person.”

Hux set down his glass and took the drive from Ren’s hand. “So this is what those dogs were trying to keep from us? Are you sure? It seems so innocuous. This is very early Imperial tech- those connector nodules are rare.”

“Skywalker was protecting it but it seems they were unsuccessful in deciphering its encryption. You have the means, don’t you?” 

“I’ll have my best men on this before noon.”

“Good. I have more. FN-2187 and the previously captured pilot are on their way here. They were found on  Tynna .”

Hux raised a brow and pocketed the device. “Tynna? How did you come by that information?”

Ren hesitated to answer. “Does it matter?”

“No, I suppose not. Still, what a wonderful morning so far. I imagine you and I will be praised for our work.”

“Have you reported to the Supreme Leader yet?”

“I will once I am sufficiently inebriated.” Hux chuckled and slapped Ren’s chest. He was further along than Ren first realised. “I’m only joking. I have troops scanning ground zero and I want full confirmation that the Resistance has been crushed before completing my report.”

“I ought to leave you to your festivities then. Enjoy your victory, you’ve earned it.”

“A compliment from you? How rare. I’ll cherish it.”

Ren sighed behind his mask, too quietly for it to filter through. “Just lay off the drink.”

The look Hux threw him only instilled a certainty that he did not plan to stop just yet. Ren left him to his own devices. Parties were never his forte and Ren did not possess any kind of social manner. 

The quietness of Lord Ren’s room was welcomed in comparison to the music and chatter of the post-war celebrations. They had won. Decades upon decades of crawling around the shadows of the Outer Rim, and funnelling money and supplies through bounty hunters and strictly covert deals, were over.

The Supreme Leader had not divulged what he planned to do with the galaxy now in the palm of his hand and Ren had not asked. His place in all of this would come to light in time. Perhaps he should not have been so quick to judge the young General. He’d succeeded where others had promised imminent failure. Perhaps now, all the killing and the battles would stop. Not right away, of course. There was a whole  galaxy to officially conquer. Maybe there would come a time when Ren would not be sent far away to retrieve information for the First Order. A time when he could do exactly as he did now:

Sit in the comfort of his room and allow his mind to drift across the Force, letting it take him where it wanted. Like dust in the breeze.

He should’ve taken up the offer to truly settle himself on  Starkiller . The black walls were barren and bleak without an ounce of personality. It would do for the time being. It was unlikely the General had settled either; his eyes were set on Coruscant and its opulent apartments above the cityscape. Settling meant knowing for certain Ren would be staying for longer than a few weeks at a time. Under the guidance of the Supreme Leader, such a wish was unattainable.

For now, though, this spartan room was his and his alone and Ren took the few precious moments of peace he had to calm his mind and seek out the one person he needed to hear from the most.

Ren’s grasp on the Force had changed over the years. He could no longer broaden his range like he could as a youngling, as if an invisible shield stopped him from reaching beyond. It was maddening at times but at least he wasn’t completely alone.

“You’re there, aren’t you?” Ren asked to the melted helmet poised across from him. “I can feel your presence. I need your guidance again.” 


	7. Chapter 7

** Chapter 7 **

Poe was beginning to really hate the dark walls and blaring lights of the First Order. The white stripes along the walls and floor made his headache worse but he couldn’t close his eyes, not if he wanted to memorise the path he was being led. It was more for the sake of it than to fulfil any use. His vision kept blacking out and every single corridor looked the same. He’d long since lost his sense of direction. They tossed him in a room and shut the door quickly, as if he even had the strength to get up and run out. He crumpled tiredly into a ball and let his eyes drift closed, bringing his cuffed hands to his chest. But it wasn’t long before the door was opened, the lights from the hallways spilling into the dark room before a switch was turned on and the door was shut again. It wasn’t a cell, maybe an oversized closet at best. There were metal crates stacked along one wall.

“You seem to enjoy being captured,  Dameron ,” a man said from high above. Poe stared at the shiny boots in front of his face.

“What can I say?” Poe weakly replied with a pained gasp. “You know how to give a guy a good time round here. I’d rate it five stars but you could use better service, I didn’t really sleep all that well last time. There’s definitely room for improvement.”

Poe groaned and pushed himself with one elbow so he could roll over onto his back and look up at the man. He chuckled and stared up at the ceiling.

“Well, it sure is an honour, General. Sorry, I forget your name. Hugs? Hutt? No, that’s not it. Help me out, buddy. Some nerf-herder smacked my brain and my memory’s struggling a little.”

“I was told great things about you,  Dameron . The best pilot in the Resistance, you call yourself. I must admit, after seeing what you did on  Pasaana , I’m a little impressed.” Hux carefully shrugged his greatcoat off and laid it across the crates neatly. 

“Thanks. Do you want an autograph? Maybe a photo together?” Poe cranked his neck back to keep the General in his sights. “Kriff, you’re skinny. Once we’re done here, you should head down to the canteen, grab yourself some food. But then again, I suppose you’re great at hiding in small places. Might come in handy when we win.”

Hux tensed for the briefest moment and even with his back turned, it was visible to Poe. The pilot grinned to himself, as he searched for the General’s weak spot.

“There’s not a lot written about you,” Poe continued, as if Hux wasn’t planning to torture him. He’d get as many bites in as he could first. “Your dad, however- Oh boy, he’s one for the history books. Nasty man. His work for the Empire was pure evil. Tell me, was it all just an act? Was papa Hux actually a nice man behind closed doors?”

Hux slowly looked over his shoulder at Poe and his eyes confirmed  Brendol Hux was not a nice man. Poe almost felt bad for stirring up painful memories. Almost.

“I guess being skinny has its advantages. You can hide, make yourself invisible. I wouldn’t know what that’s like, my parents loved me. I was their little bundle of joy. But you weren’t, were you?”

Hux was biting his tongue with an impressive amount of patience. He was ready to snap and break bones but instead, he let Poe carry on talking as if it had no effect on him. 

“I can only imagine what father dear would say about you now. Abolishing the Empire’s ideals, what he worked for, consorting with the Sith- I mean, Vader was legendary but this is different, isn’t it? You and Ren. I heard you bickering outside my cell last time. Ren would tear you to shreds in an instant. There’s no respect.” Poe flashed him a cocky smile. “Any of this hurting your feelings yet? Because I have an armada of shit-talking at the ready and you haven’t even kicked me yet. Why’s that?”

Hux walked around to Poe’s side, crouched down and pulled the pilot up by his collar. “I’m letting you wear yourself out.”

“You’re going to be here a while then. I’ve been told I have incredible stamina.” 

Hux hummed and let go of his collar, reaching up past the clotted wound on his forehead to brush back some unruly curls. Poe had another snide comment to make, followed by something flirty, but he held his tongue when Hux smiled. With his soft face, it looked charming and warm- a smile reserved for close friends or perhaps lovers- but it didn’t reach his eyes and that’s what made Poe worry. The green remained ruthless but Hux looked pleased, in a dark sense.

“What’s wrong?” Hux asked softly. “Run out of shit-talk already? Good, then it’s my turn.”

He let go of Poe’s curls and reached into his trouser pocket for a small holoprojector the size of his thumb. He held it out to Poe, who took it without ever daring to look away from Hux’s face. 

“Before you turn it on, you should know I took immense pleasure in this.” Hux’s knuckles brushed Poe’s cheek and mockingly slapped him twice. 

He gestured for Poe to turn the projector on. When he did, there was an empty stretch of space scattered with debris. Poe frowned.

“What is this?”

“That is what remains of the New Republic.”

Poe gulped and shook his head, searching Hux’s smile for a lie. “No. That’s not possible.”

“It is very possible. And for this next bit, I only have you to thank for this. If you had never stolen First Order property, I never would’ve known that your parasitic Resistance was stationed on Vandor. This is all because of you.” Hux languidly stood up and smoothed out his uniform before sitting down on a crate, out of reach. “Press the button on the right.”

The same empty space appeared but Poe instantly recognised the star alignment in the distance. 

“No...”

“You may take comfort in the fact that they did not suffer. The heat alone would’ve incinerated any life form long before the planet was destroyed. I wanted you to know that before I had you executed.”

Hux had been right to move away because Poe suddenly lunged up at him with a shout, only for the General’s knee to connect with Poe’s stomach. The pilot wheezed and fell, and Hux crouched down to cradle his jaw. Poe’s whole body was shaking. He glanced down to the blaster attached to Hux’s belt and yanked it free, shuffling back as he aimed it at the General.

“Let me go. Now!”

“And where will you go?” Hux was still crouched, his expression oddly serene for a man in his position. “You have no home to go to. No ship. No money.”

“I’ll managed, don’t you worry. Now, let me go or I’ll kill you.”

“Go ahead. Try.”

Poe hesitated, only because of how strange Hux was acting. As if none of this was a concern. He had to be bluffing. Poe’s index curled over the trigger and just as he applied pressure, the blaster flew out of his hand. It smacked against a wall, close enough to Hux for him to pick it up.

A beep interrupted the General and he looked down at the comm-link on his wrist. He sighed and tucked his glove back over it. He stood and picked up his greatcoat.

“Busy day, it seems. Enjoy these last moments, make your peace.”

Poe stared at him in shock through his tears and watched him leave the room. He glanced out into the hallway and stumbled back as he saw Lord Ren waiting there. The door slid shut and Poe shuffled back until he hit a corner and curled up into a ball. The projector was still on and he rushed to crush it under his boot before returning to his corner, sobbing into his arms.

* * *

It had been a mistake to run after Rey, Finn realised as he lifted his head and immediately knew he was back in First Order hands. She’d warned him to stay away, to tell Luke what she’d decided to do only once he’d returned to Vandor. Finn should’ve listened. Or taken the money and paid for a ship to the Outer Rim. Anything that wouldn’t have led him to where he was now, cuffed to a table under Captain Phasma’s emotionless gaze.  But Finn knew she wasn’t as calm as she liked to pretend. She’d failed the Order, after all. Maybe that’s why Phasma had readily accepted the boring job of guarding him. 

He couldn’t say how long he waited, trying to look at anything other than her shiny chrome armour. Hours, perhaps. The thought to seek out Rey crossed his mind but when he was confronted with the reality of his situation, Finn knew he’d sooner escape by himself than double-back for a girl he barely knew. Even if she was nice to him. 

“Is it true?” Phasma asked, startling Finn from his thoughts.

He inhaled and wearily looked at her, shrugging. “Is what true?”

“That you have the Force.”

He nodded. There was nothing in the room not bolted down to prove it, except her rifle but she’d shoot him before he’d ever pull it into his own hands, and even then he wouldn’t be able to move them anyways. 

“I never knew. You hid it well, FN-2187.”

“I wasn’t hiding it. I didn’t know either. And my name is Finn.”

She tilted her head. “Troopers do not have names.”

“Well, I do.” Finn wanted to cross his arms and frowned as the restraints stopped him. “My friend gave it to me. So you’ll call me Finn, if you know what’s good for you.”

“A friend? You mean rebel scum.”

“What the hell does it matter to you anyways? I’m just a number. That’s all I’ve ever been, to any of you. We’re all numbers. Disposable. Emotionless. We’re not clones but you treat us like it.”

“An army must be organised. There is no room for emotion in war.”

He scoffed. “Yeah right, I saw how the Resistance behaves. They’d all die for what they believe in, because they  _ want _ to be loyal. Their loyalty’s real, unlike yours. You’re afraid Hux would kill you if you stepped out of line.”

Phasma took one hand off her rifle and pulled off her helmet, shaking short blonde curls free. Finn had seen her face dozens of times over the years but he was always surprised by her fierce blue eyes. It was easy to forget there was a person beneath the armour, alive and breathing.

“I have no such fear.” She told the truth, Finn could tell she was entirely honest. “My loyalty does not spawn from fear but from respect. Something I thought I had raised in you, but clearly I was wrong. You’re a traitor to everyone here. You could have been a great soldier but you threw that away because you were weak. You’re the one in chains, not me. If I were you, I wouldn’t act so high and mighty.”

Finn backed down and sighed. Whether she’d taken off the helmet to show her determination or to remind Finn who she was beneath it, he wasn’t sure and it did not matter. He couldn’t handle  hearing her say that.

“I was scared,” he admitted in a small voice. For a second, he saw sympathy in her eyes. “I didn’t know what to do. And now I’m back here and you’re going to kill me.”

She opened her mouth and quickly shut it. Her frown indicated an internal battle before her heart won out. “You’re not going to die. That is not why you were brought here.”

“I don’t want to wear the armour again. Don’t put me through reconditioning.”

Phasma averted her eyes. “You’re not returning to my ranks. Lord Ren has... special orders from the Supreme Leader. I wasn’t privy to them but I imagine you’ll soon wish to be in your squadron again.”

Finn almost took the blaster from her just so that she’d shoot him and save him from that fate.

“No.”

“It’s not up to me.”

If he hadn’t been strapped down, Finn would’ve fallen to his knees. Nothing good could come from the Supreme Leader. Whatever plan he had in mind, Finn wanted no part in it. Phasma reset her helmet after a while as silence dragged on. Finn never should’ve tried to help Rey.

* * *

Deep inside  Starkiller was a natural rocky cavern, converted into a similar but larger chamber than the one onboard the  _ Finalizer _ , with a stone throne at the top of a tall stairway and a projector beside it. Red flags hung from the jagged walls, swaying in the draft current that passed through cracks in the ceiling. The only difference was that this time, Ren felt less afraid of the Supreme Leader.

“I have captured FN-2187. He is in my possession at this moment,” he stated with pride, kneeling before the steep stairs with a straight back and frozen posture.

The blue image of Snoke wavered from displeased to something akin to satisfied, but not quite happy or relieved. Ren took no offence.

“Good. Break his spirits before you bring him to me. I can only imagine what sort of fire the Resistance has stoked in him. I want him ready for initiation.”

“Yes, Master.”

Snoke raised his eyes up to the entrance of the cavern, where the stone turned to metal. He sensed Hux before the man even stepped foot inside. Hux bowed his head as he entered.

“Forgive my intrusion, Supreme Leader. I wished to report we’ve extensively combed through the debris of Vandor and the  Hosnian System. No life forms were detected.” Hux stopped beside Ren and knelt, glancing at him briefly with a proud smirk and then up to the hologram.

“It seems your weapon works after all.” 

Snoke leaned forward and Hux was yanked downwards onto his hands and knees, like invisible shackles had come up through the ground and pulled. The pressure grew painfully but Hux forced himself to be silent, too aware that retaliation of any kind would only bring more pain.

“Master?” Ren cut through, his distorted voice cutting through the shrill pain in Hux’s head like a knife. “He succeeded.”

“I don’t recall giving the order to fire upon anyone,” Snoke icily reminded. “No one will act without my permission. A price must be paid for insolence.”

Ren swallowed and submissively bowed his head and watched as the General’s arms shook with strain and his breathing laboured. He forced himself to look in case this was the last time he’d see Hux alive. 

“This is your one and only warning, General.”

Hux collapsed as his arms gave in and the shackles withdrew, leaving him gasping on the floor. 

“You have your orders, apprentice.”

Snoke cut the link and Ren waited a beat before nudging the General’s shoulder with one hand. When Armitage looked up from under the safety of his bent arm, his nose was bleeding profusely and his eyes were full of venom. He didn’t say anything and he didn’t need to. It was treason to speak against the Supreme Leader but Hux could think up of a million ways to kill the  Sith in his mind. They were all so visible on his face that Ren flinched and took his hand away, like he feared the General might turn feral and bury his fangs into him. 

Ren could’ve equally said a million reassurances and warnings, but he settled for, “I know.”

While Hux made his way through the less-visited sections of the base to seek out rest and some heavy painkillers, Ren turned in the direction of the holding cells. His priority was FN-2187. How lucky he had been for the trooper to come straight to him. He’d been caught by patrols and the Resistance pilot had picked a fight to save him. Now they were both in his grasp but he only cared for the traitor.

He gave Captain Phasma a polite but curt nod when he entered the cell and watched her give FN-2187 one last look. She knew something was up but nothing more beyond that. He could appreciate her devotion to her troopers. Once they were alone, Ren admired him. FN-2187 was young, intelligent, able-bodied, and Ren could see the potential in him already. He just needed to destroy that shining defiance in his brown eyes. The trooper was terrified already, sweating before Ren had even moved an inch closer.

“Don’t be afraid,” Ren said gently, like he was trying to coax a wild creature to eat from his palm.

“Bit late for that,” Finn replied. He sensed that same watery weight pulling him down that he’d always felt around the  Sith . He knew now what it was. The  Dark Side . A suffocating power. His fear didn’t help the drowning sensation, especially when Ren walked nearer.

“I won’t hurt you.”

Finn had learned never to take his eyes off Lord Ren, that doing so meant death. But he looked away from that reflective visor so he didn’t have to watch himself. The ceiling wasn’t very interesting in comparison.

“I don’t believe you.”

Anyone could say anything beneath the safety of a mask, especially one like Ren’s. He hated not being able to see past the visor. It wasn’t a person he was talking to but a faceless monster. A spectre cloaked in shadows.  As if Ren had heard his thoughts, he reached beneath his helmet to unlatch it and carefully pulled it off, setting it aside on a bolted down table with a heavy thud. Finn tried to keep his eyes on the unremarkable pattern above him but his curiosity won out and he looked.

Lord Ren was human after all and young, strikingly so, perhaps a couple of years older than Finn. His black hair framed a long, pale face and his doe-like brown eyes were deceptively kind. He wouldn’t stand out in a crowd but he was still handsome, in a gentle manner. 

A dozen comments flew through Finn’s mind. GH-5903 would’ve won the bet in their squad. He wanted to joke that he was glad he was staring at a human. Instead, he stayed quiet. Phasma had proven that Finn could be subdued by seeing a person’s eyes and he couldn’t look away easily.

“What do you want with me?” Finn finally asked after a vulnerable moment.

“The Supreme Leader wants you. I’m tasked with bringing you to him.” There was a tension to Ren’s words. Without the distorter, the  Sith had a deep but soft voice. Combined with his features, Finn understood why he hid it all behind metal and plastoid. But regardless of the surprises, Finn focused on the way he spoke. Ren had doubts.

“Why?” Playing dumb only earned Finn a scoff. 

“You have an extraordinary power. Do you know what the Force is?”

“Yeah. I already had that speech from Skywalker.” Ren bristled and it gave Finn a boost in confidence. “I won’t let anyone use me. I’m not a weapon.”

“That won’t happen.” Ren very well knew he was lying through his teeth. The Supreme Leader hadn’t told him in detail what would happen to Finn, but Ren needed to only dwell briefly on his own experience to know what lay ahead. “What did Skywalker say about the Dark Side? Did he try to teach you?”

“He didn’t teach me anything. I’ve been...” Finn hesitated. Should he tell Ren what he’d been doing all this time? 

“They had you floating rocks and playing catch,” Ren said for him.

“I- yes... How did you-?”

Ren shrugged. “They did the same to me, never training for anything. Just  parlor tricks. That’s all you’d ever accomplish with them.”

“I thought it was because I was new.”

Ren shook his head. “No. I can sense great power in you. I’m certain Skywalker did as well but unlike him, the Supreme Leader will not stifle your strength. He’ll help you control it. You could be so much more.”

Ren made it sound so perfect, so simple. If Finn took his offer, he’d be powerful but it wasn’t what he wanted. Not by a longshot.

“I’ve seen what you’ve done,” Finn countered. “You’ve killed and tortured people. I promised myself I’d never come back to the Order and I’m sticking to that. I won’t kill innocent people.”

“Innocent?”

“That man on  Jakku . Rey told me who he was.”

Ren flinched back like he’d been shocked, his eyes wide and searching Finn’s desperately. He looked wounded and hopeful at the same time, a mixture of painfully obvious emotions. The mask made more sense now. His entire thought process was written on his face.

“You’ve seen her.” He pulled off his right glove and reached out to  Finn’s face.

Finn frowned and tried to move his head away. “What are you doing? Stop that. What-”

It felt like icy water had been injected into Finn’s veins. It gripped everything, his body, his mind. He stifled a pained groan and bit his lip, shutting his eyes against the foreign pain moving around in his head. There was something more behind it, though, a warmth that was hidden away just out of reach.

“She’s all grown up,” Ren mumbled to himself. He saw Rey through Finn’s eyes and willed himself to look. 

He didn’t voice aloud how much it hurt to see her again or how he thought she’d truly matured into a worthy Force-wielder. Finn heard it all as if they were his own thoughts, and that warmth became reachable. He held onto it like a lifeline, pulling himself up from the pain and the cold until it was a distant sensation. As if he’d opened a door and stepped through, Finn found himself somewhere else entirely and the  Dark Side smothered him like a tempest. He felt desperation clawing at his chest, a need to pursue power and strength at any cost, but it wasn’t his own.  He’d never once felt the need to harm himself or to please others so much it took away his dignity.

Finn searched further and let the suffocating waves draw him deeper down until he found its heart, calm like the eye of a storm. There wasn’t a single person alive who wouldn’t recognise the black mask of Darth Vader. And beyond the mask was an altar of worshipful thoughts praying for guidance, for strength.

“You want to be just like him,” Finn muttered as he heard Ren’s distant thoughts echo from the past. It was all taken from him in a snap and Finn went from looking at the mask to Ren’s frightened gaze.

The  Sith had been so preoccupied seeing Rey again that he’d missed Finn making that full connection to his own mind. Doors could open both ways and he’d failed to sense it, as if Finn was but a speck of dust. All the blood drained from Ren’s face and his eyes became glassy.

“The girl,” he said softly, “Where is she?”

“I don’t know,” Finn replied half-truthfully. “She left me.”

“No matter. I’ll find her myself.” It seemed like Ren wanted to leave.

“Don’t take me to Snoke. I won’t interfere, I want no part in this war. I’ll go and you’ll never see me again. I won’t bother anybody. Please.”

Ren shook his head. “The Supreme Leader’s word is final.”

Finn wanted to grab his arm, pull him back closer and plead for his mercy. Even he knew that it was a waste of time but that didn’t stop him.

“I know what he did to you. I felt your pain,” Finn continued, “I saw it. Don’t put me through it too.”

“I have to,” Ren simply answered. When he took a couple more steps back, Finn knew he’d lost all hope of changing the  Sith’s mind. That emotional face was quickly hidden under his helmet again and Ren became a spectre once more. He stayed for a moment, observing Finn wordlessly, and then left.

Finn yelled out into the empty room and fought at his restraints. The metal refused to budge but Finn could only guess there was a mechanism to open the cuffs. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, to calm his racing heart. Rey had told him patience and a quiet mind would help. He tried to reach out with the Force, pushing it against the sides and back of the table.

The cuffs suddenly snapped open.

He must’ve pressed a button. Finn rubbed at his wrists and lifted himself up to his feet.

The hallway was empty and Finn sprinted to the nearest alcove in the wall. Wherever he was, it wasn’t a Star Destroyer. The walls weren’t humming from the engines. So they were on solid ground. That made things even worse. The First Order operated in the Outer Rim so any help from the Resistance would take too long to reach them.

His best bet was Rey. She’d gone to find Ren so chances were she was here  too. He just had to find her.

* * *

Poe had never been one to accept death. He mourned people when they died but he, himself, had not been ready to call it a day. Not until now. Whatever execution was awaiting him, Poe couldn’t wait for it to be over. He had nothing left to fight for.

The Resistance was gone. No ships, no fighters, no leader. That last one brought on a fresh wave of sobs that racked his worn-out body. The First Order didn’t need to torture Poe physically for him to feel entirely broken. And without the Republic’s shaky and secretive support, there was no hope of rekindling a new group of rebels. It was over. Finn was likely dead already.

So when he heard footsteps outside the door, he braced himself for the end. It opened and a stormtrooper stepped in, grabbing Poe by his arms. He didn’t ask where they were taking him, or what they planned to do. He walked with his head bowed and let himself be moved. He could barely see through his blurry tears, something he’d yet been unable to stop from overflowing. If he had looked up, he would’ve seen a grey figure spring out around the corner. The trooper let go and Poe raised his head just in time to see them get knocked into the wall. There were warm hands on his face suddenly and a body pressed to his chest.

“Poe! What the hell are you doing here?” Rey asked as she pulled back and grabbed hold of his forearms to keep him close. She took note of the tears and the dried blood. “What happened?”

“Rey, I...”

Comms chatter down the hall made Rey drop his arms.

“Quick, help me move them.” She grabbed the trooper’s wrist and pulled the heavy weight into a room. They weren’t dead, just unconscious. 

“Hey!” 

Behind them, a Tie pilot had been filing out something at a desk. Rey shoved out a hand and threw their head down against the desk, knocking them out. Poe was staggered for a moment before he blinked and took a deep breath.

“Rey, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Let me guess, Luke sent you because Finn told him where I went.” She knelt beside the trooper and started pulling off their armour. “Look, if this is about to become a lecture or a rescue, I’m sorry but I won’t listen or go with you. Kylo is here, I can sense him. I need to see him, talk some sense into that idiot before he does something stupid...er.”

“Rey...”

“And I know Finn will be angry with me. I didn’t plan any of this. He has to know that. I wasn’t tricking him. I saw an opportunity, my first real chance to get close, and I took it. So when you see him, tell him I’m sorry.”

“Rey!”

Rey stopped and looked up. Poe braced himself against the wall and slid down, bending his knees to his chest.

“Leia’s dead. They’re all dead.”

Rey crawled to Poe’s side, her eyes filling with tears as she shook her head. “No, that’s not... I saw what happened to the  Hosnian System but-”

“They attacked Vandor. It’s gone. There’s nothing left.”

She’d seen the final blast but it had flown by into the far distance. She’d been unable to see exactly which planet had been destroyed. Vandor couldn’t have been...

“How? How did they know?!”

“Tracking beacon on a ship I insisted we steal.” There was a finality to Poe’s words, like he was desperate to condemn himself. Rey couldn’t believe it.

“You...”

“They were going to execute me. And you should’ve let them.”

If Poe had wished for anger and retaliation, or perhaps a death sentence, he’d failed to achieve it. Rey threw herself at him and buried her face in his neck, her arms like a vice around him as she wept.

“What do we do now?”

“Finn’s here somewhere, if he hasn’t been killed yet.”

She reared her head up, almost knocking into Poe’s jaw. “Finn’s here?!”

“He followed you, I think. If he hadn’t picked a fight with some troopers, I never would’ve found him. He got knocked out and taken away before he saw me. You have to go find him.”

“What about you?”

Poe glanced up and shrugged. “I’ll find the nearest trooper and let them finish the job.”

Rey frowned. “No, absolutely not.”

“Rey, this is all my fault. I... There’s no one left.”

“That’s not true. You have me. And we’ll get Finn back, together. And I will find you both a way off this awful planet.”

“You’re not leaving, are you?”

“I came here for a reason.” Rey untangled herself and stood up, holding out her hand to Poe. “I’m not leaving without Kylo.”

“He’s... not your friend anymore, Rey. You know that.”

“I do know. That’s not why. I’m not here for that. I want answers, I need to know why he tried to destroy the Jedi and kill Master Luke. I can’t let him go, not now.”

“Let’s get Finn first.” Poe took her hand and stumbled to his feet, before looking at the unconscious soldiers. “That armour will be useful.”

* * *

If the  _ Finalizer _ had been a maze, this base was the pinnacle of all labyrinths. Finn was certain he’d walked these halls before. They all looked identical. All just as black-walled and white-lit as the next, some doors had numbers, some didn’t. The only thing that gave Finn an inch of hope was that he’d found some stairs and gone up and not yet come back down.

He didn’t have the first clue where to look for Rey. She could be anywhere. There was no guarantee she was even here. That didn’t deter him. If he was going to have any chance at escaping, he needed Rey. There was no doubt in his mind now. With Ren involved, Finn needed a Force user who could do more than chuck rocks across a room. Ren could and _would_ end his life in a heartbeat. Rey may last a bit longer. If she survived, Finn could get her to fly them to safety. If not... he didn’t want to think about that option.

It was entirely possible that she’d already found Ren. And if that was the case, Finn was not going to stick his neck out for her. It was cowardly, he wasn’t blind to that fact. But the fear of what Snoke would do was too great. He’d seen what awaited him down that path.

He began considering whether kidnapping a pilot was worth a shot. It worked the first time. Somewhat. The idea came to him when he saw the black  plastoid of a Tie pilot walking along the mezzanine above an open-space recreational hall that led back out towards one of the many underground hangars. A few people were down there eating and unwinding, mostly officers, and Finn flattened himself against the wall and followed.

As he kept a close eye on his target, a trooper joined the pilot’s side and Finn cursed his bad luck. He couldn’t take them both on. He was readying to double-back when the trooper turned his way and pointed directly at him.

Finn ran.

Screw stealth and being sneaky. He ran like he’d never ran before and didn’t realise he was looping on himself. He smacked straight into the pilot and sent them falling back with a yelp. Finn scuttled off the  plastoid chest but a hand grabbed his wrist.

“Will you stop running please?!”

“Let me go!”

“Finn, stop!” The trooper called out, ripping off their helmet. “It’s us!”

“Rey?!” Finn stopped fighting against the pilot beneath him and looked down. “Poe?”

“I don’t know how to take the helmet off,” Poe admitted meekly as he relaxed. “This stuff is complicated. I can hardly see anything either.”

Finn huffed and yanked his hand free and reached under the helmet to press at a small lock. It disengaged with a hiss and he pulled it off, tossing the helmet aside. Poe’s hair was mussed and he looked about his general ruggedness, but something was wrong. Finn climbed off and stood, pulling Poe up with a weak apology for knocking him over.

He turned to Rey. She was tiny in the armour and it fit badly, most of the  plastoid brushing against itself.

Finn jabbed a finger in her face. “You!”

“Finn, I-”

“I warned you about the First Order, about Ren. Did you use me to get here? Was that the whole reason we went to Tynna, so you could get to him?”

Rey waved her arms in defence. “No! It wasn’t like that! I never meant for you to get involved.” She looked to Poe. “Either of you. Look, Finn, there’s something I need to tell you-”

“Can it wait? We need to get out of here. Snoke’s after me, now. He knows what I am.”

“You can’t let him take you!”

“I know, so let’s go. The sooner we get back to the Resistance, the-”

Rey rested a hand on Finn’s shoulder and shook her head. “There’s no Resistance anymore. That’s what I wanted to tell you. The First Order used this machine... The Republic’s gone too. We’re alone. We’re all that’s left. I’ll do what I can to help you both  escape .”

“You’re not coming?” Finn glanced to Poe for help but the pilot shook his head. Clearly he’d missed an important discussion. “You have to be sure, Rey.”

“I am.”

“Okay, then we’ll need a ship. Something fast. Poe, you’re dressed the part already. But the defences here will be worse than last time. You ready for that?”

Poe nodded and fetched the discarded helmet. “I am.”

“Good. Hangars are nearby, we just have to get there-”

The white lights around them turned a deep red, flashing twice before it settled on a brighter shade of red. It made it difficult to see without the tech of the helmets.

_ “Initialising sector five lockdown. All personnel be vigilant for escapees. Kill order has not been authorised. Set weapons to stun only.” _

Rey and Poe looked at Finn hopelessly.

“That’s not good, is it?” Rey asked.

“It means the hangars will be locked and we can’t get out. And every trooper will be looking for  us,” Finn explained. “Good thing is they don’t want us dead.”

“For now.”

“Can we turn it off?” Poe asked, as he put his helmet back on. The lockdown warning flashed in the corner of his vision irritably. 

Finn waved his hand. “Oh, sure, we’ll just ask them really nicely if they can let us go!”

“I mean, we could...” Rey sheepishly shrugged. “I can, at least. It’s worth a shot. Poe and I will lead and if anybody questions us, we’ll say we captured you.”

It was a ridiculous plan. But it was the only one they could come up with, so Finn shrugged and let Rey take his arm once she’d shoved the helmet on.

“Kriff, this thing is awful.”

“I know, right?”

Poe glanced over to them. “Let’s cut the chatter, otherwise this won’t get us far.”

He wasn’t renewed with purpose or energy but Leia had begged him to keep those two safe, and he had to complete his final mission. Even if after that, he wasn’t sure he’d want to stick around.

* * *

Any longer in FN-2187's presence and Ren would’ve struggled to keep his focus on Snoke’s command. The trooper was strong, more than he knew, and Ren had lost. He hated thinking it but it was true. He’d been weak and weakness was not permitted.  Somehow, FN-2187 had slipped through their link. It couldn’t have been on purpose, he wasn’t trained for that. No, Ren had allowed his mind to be overcome with emotion and made his weakness visible rather than keeping a tight lid on everything like he’d been taught.

Still, that didn’t stop Ren from knowing he had to complete his task. Another failure would not be tolerated. 

He hid away to gather himself. In the peace and quiet of an empty room, he tore off his helmet and tossed it aside.  How dare that  trooper try to beg for his kindness? FN-2187 was a traitor, a nobody. He had no right to remind Ren of his past, of his torment. No right. None whatsoever. 

Ren ignited his  saber and slashed at the nearest wall, tearing apart the console panels and monitors. The tech sparked and smoked. Long orange lines scored the melted surfaces. It wasn’t enough. He wanted to tear the room apart.

He could not let FN-2187 get the better of him again. Snoke wanted him broken of any rebellious spirit but that wasn’t the trooper’s problem. He was determined not to join Snoke’s side. Not Ren, specifically. Maybe he could appeal to him as a friend and bring him in far more willing.

He had to.

He left the smouldering room to itself. Someone else could deal with it. 

Ren quickly walked back to the holding cells and vowed he’d do a better job this time around. He could play nice, be friendly. He’d have to pour all of his effort into such an act but it was possible. FN-2187 seemed to prefer seeing his face so Ren readied to take off his mask once inside, even though he hated to.

The cell was empty and the cuffs opened.

His  saber tore the table in two halves. Out in the corridor, anyone nearby turned on their heels and quickly disappeared. 

Ren knew the second the alarm and lockdown became effective that he’d have to answer why. It wasn’t long before Hux was marching up to him furiously.

“Explain this right now,” he demanded, gesturing at the red emergency lights around them. The General looked downright frightening in the red glow, maybe he’d been resting. Still, not a single hair was out of place. None of what had transpired so far this day showed on his face, except for his wrath.

“FN-2187 escaped. I will find him.”

Ren moved to walk around the General but Hux stepped in his way. “This is becoming a pattern with you. Catch him for your own sa-”

Hux reached up to his throat to pry off the invisible grip. He struggled to breathe as Ren’s hold tightened. Finally, he was released just as his lungs started to burn and he staggered to keep his balance. 

“Do not threaten me, General. I am not in the mood to deal with your rabid insolence.”

Hux was too busy wheezing and coughing to reply as Ren turned and walked away, searching for the trooper. He couldn’t have gone far.


	8. Chapter 8

** Chapter 8 **

The command centre for sector five was not very active. Unlike a Star Destroyer, the base was split into sections, each with their own control unit and their assigned officers. Two of them were sat at their curved desks, switching between monitors and surveillance feeds.

“Any progress on locating the prisoners?” One asked into her headset. Judging from her drawn-out sigh afterwards, the response was negative. She turned to her male co-worker. “We’re all getting chewed out if this doesn’t sort itself out quickly.”

“My shift’s about to end. I’m not taking the blame for this mess. It’s not my fault people keep escaping.”

“You’d think they’d get better security.”

The co-worker snorted. “We are the security. It’s better guards they need. What are we supposed to do, watch every single camera at the same time? I don’t have a thousand eyes. We don’t get paid enough for this.”

The woman exhaled deeply. “I never should’ve taken that promotion.”

Behind them, Rey nervously walked into the room. She tried to look imposing but as the officers heard her, the woman raised a brow.

“Yes, what do you want?”

Rey moved her hand. “Turn off the lockdown.”

The two officers looked at each other and laughed. “Yeah, no. I take orders from high command, not you. And that armour needs looking at, trooper. Violating dress code will get you reconditioned.”

“I said turn off the lockdown.”

The woman gave her co-worker a more nervous glance and pulled out her blaster. Just before she could fire, Poe made quick work of them. Rey yelped in shock and glared at him through the visor.

“Why would you do that?!”

“Because they’re the enemy. And they were going to shoot you. I thought you said you could convince them. Was that your actual plan?” Poe started pulling the officers away from their desks.

“It worked on troopers,” she pouted, looking at her gloved hand worryingly.

Finn appeared at her side and tried not to look at the dead people. “I think they’re trained for that. New rules the General implemented a few years back when he did an overhaul of the training programs.”

Rey was about to argue that he could’ve kindly mentioned that part but the intercom on one of the desks flashed up.

“Control, is everything alright up there?”

The trio exchanged a worried look and Poe, being the closest, took off his helmet. They wordlessly argued on what to do.

“Control, I repeat, is everything alright?”

Poe lost the argument. “Hi, yes, we’re fine. Thank you. How are you?”

Rey cringed and Poe gestured wildly in his own defence.

“We heard shots. Are you sure?”

“Uh, yeah, no, just a weapon malfunction. You know how crap these things are. There’s no cause  for worry.”

“We’re sending a unit to you. Standby.”

Rey turned towards the door and took her  lightsaber out of the blaster holster. Finn grabbed one of the officer’s blasters.

“No, you don’t need to do that. We’re fine, we’re good.”

“Control, what is your verification code?”

Poe settled on shooting the console as an answer. “Well. Shit. Okay, how do we turn off this lockdown? Okay, hold on, let me just-”

He messed around with one of the panels, punching at something, until the red lights turned back to white. 

“ _ Sector five lockdown lifted _ ,” an automated voice echoed in the halls.

“Great, awesome. Okay, let’s get out of here,” Poe insisted as he picked up his blaster rifle and peeked out into the hallway. To their left, four troopers were approaching. “We’ve got company.”

He shot one down and Rey stepped beside him, deflecting bolts with her  saber . Finn hid behind them, keeping an eye on the opposite end. By the time he’d looked back to his friends, the troopers were no longer a threat.

“We need to get to the hangar,” he said, clapping Poe on the shoulder. “ Tie Fighter’s the fastest thing we’ll find.”

Rey joined  Finn’s side as Poe took the lead again. He was heavily concentrated on surviving, any other thought was banished to the back of his mind.

“When I came here, I saw Star Destroyers in orbit,” Rey stated. “They were still there when I landed.”

“Those will be a problem but I can out-manoeuvre their cannons. If we can jump to hyperspace fast, we can head straight towards the core and-” Poe paused. “No, we won’t find help there. The First Order’s in charge now, they’ll move out of the Outer Rim now that there’s no law prohibiting their presence in the core.”

“So what? We stick to the Outer Rim?” Finn asked.

“Yes. Safest place for us. For now. We’ll find somewhere quiet, lay low for a while. But first, we-”

A blast struck the wall beside them and Poe quickly spun to shoot the pursuing trooper. They hadn’t been alone. A dozen soldiers followed them down the corridors to the hangar and used the crates stacked around to protect themselves from Poe and Finn’s shots. Rey tried to stand her ground, igniting both blades and spinning the  saber to deflect the bolts.

“Go! Both of you! I’ll cover you,” she promised as the troopers diminished.

Poe ran to the nearest Tie Fighter docked into the wall and climbed inside its cockpit. Same design as before, and he knew which buttons to press. The fight on the ground had started to draw out more enemies.

“Finn, you with me?”

“Yeah, right behind you.” Finn settled into the gunner’s seat, feeling equally more confident. “Let’s give Rey a hand.”

“Was thinking the same thing. I’ll get us hovering, you shoot.”

Finn focused as the Tie Fighter disconnected from its docking station and turned, allowing him to have a perfect heightened view of the troopers. He pulled the triggers and watched crates explode and troopers fall to the ground. It was for survival. Same as on  Jakku . It wasn’t personal. Finn tried very hard not to feel something for them.

Rey was holding her own just fine, especially with the reinforcement. She spun and dodged elegantly between the bolts and sparks, unhindered by the clunky armour. Until a chrome-plated trooper shot her down. Finn didn’t see Phasma until she’d moved into the light and her armour drew his eye. By then, it was too late and she shot at the Tie-Fighter's wing with an explosive round, breaking the arm connecting it to the main body.

“Shit!” Poe cried out as the ship suddenly lost its low altitude and crashed down. “I can’t fly this!”

“Then we’ll get another one! But we need to help Rey.”

The bolt had struck the Jedi in her thigh but that didn’t stop her. She knelt on her injured leg and turned one blade off. It was just her and Phasma now, and the advancing captain was determined to get another shot in before more troopers could flood the hangar.

While Finn tried to shoot at Phasma, Poe hunted down another ship. A black shuttle was left on its own with the ramp down, so Poe ran to it. Finn aimed straight at Phasma, took a deep breath and pulled the trigger, hitting her straight in the heart. The bolt only sparked against her armour and she stopped to look at him, as if taunting him. With the Jedi unable to fight and only defend herself, Phasma aimed her rifle at Finn. 

He thought, for a moment, that he got close to knowing how she’d felt when he’d betrayed her. Her rifle was suddenly jerked to the right, forcing her to miss the shot completely, and Finn looked up to Lord Ren.

“Finn!” Poe yelled from the ramp. “We need to go!”

Even if Ren’s face was hidden by the mask, Finn felt his desperation and fear. Ren reached out to stop the shuttle from lifting off as Finn ran to it, but Rey shoved him back a step. As soon as Finn touched the ramp, Poe lifted it and launched out of the hangar. They couldn’t wait for her in case she’d changed her mind. It was now or never. Rey held Ren back as much as she could until she was exhausted and the shuttle was gone. She collapsed onto her hands and watched as Ren’s boots came closer. Her lightsaber was taken into his hand and he crouched to her level. Her reflection in his visor was the last thing she saw before he knocked her out with the Force.

He stood and turned to Phasma.

“Send out as many ships as you can. Do not kill them or you’ll answer to the Supreme Leader.”

She gulped but kept herself from flinching. “Yes, Sir. And the girl?”

“I’ll deal with her myself.”

Ren looked back at Rey and carefully scooped her into his arms. She’d have to be confined under the strictest surveillance.

Poe carefully navigated the underground tunnels. There was a possibility to let the auto-piloting system handle the flight but it was slower and Poe was certain they’d send ships after them soon enough. Finn looked around the shuttle.

“Do you know whose ship you stole?” He asked with a smug laugh as he sat in the co-pilot's seat. It was practically unused and new, unlike the pilot’s which had tears in the black leather like someone had clawed at it in boredom.

“No. Does it matter?”

“This is Ren’s shuttle.”

Poe glanced at him and chuckled. “You serious?”

“Yep. You’ll have to fold the wings out.”

The controls were ridiculously complicated to Finn but Poe quickly located the right buttons to press. It wasn’t smart to unfold them in such a tight space so he waited until the tunnel came to an end and he saw sunlight, and then extended them.

“What do we do about Rey?” Finn asked quietly. “I know she wanted this but-”

“We’re getting her out. Simple as. I don’t care what she thinks she wants.” Poe paused and bit his lip in thought. “We’ll need money and more ships. Fuck it, we’ll make a new Resistance. I’m not letting this be the end. I was ready to die but now? Now I have you and Rey  needs us.”

Finn said nothing and Poe looked over in worry. He sighed and focused on lifting the shuttle up above ground. The white snow was blinding.

“I just... I thought it was just me left, okay? I thought you were dead and Rey... I wasn’t sure she was even here.”

“We’ll make it,” Finn reassured as he reached across and put his hand over Poe’s wrist and squeezed. The fleet of Star Destroyers above them weren’t as reassuring. “What’s the plan then? Do we jump past them?”

“They can track us through hyperspace. But maybe... they’ll give this ship the slip. They won’t argue with Ren.”

A blip on the radar between them revealed several approaching Tie Fighters. Poe groaned and smacked part of the panel.

“If we jump now, they’ll just follow us. This thing isn’t really equipped to fight.”

“Why  d’you take it then?”

Poe fixed him with an incredulous look. “Because a shiny tin-can shot down the one I wanted or did you blink and miss that part?” He quickly softened and ducked his head. “Sorry, I just... I’m really not myself right now.”

“Well, if we can’t fight, let’s outrun them. This thing moves fast, I’ve seen it. We just have to make them crash along the way. Can you do that?”

“I’ll do my best. These stupid wings better not get in the way.”

Poe lowered the shuttle closer to the ground, the metallic belly barely a metre above the snowy terrain. He turned towards the mountain range and the forest that surrounded the slopes. The Tie Fighters swarmed out from the tunnels like bats. 

“Why aren’t they shooting at us?” Poe wondered as he skimmed against a tree. He was quickly hating the bulkiness of the shuttle. It was pretty and elegant but terrible for the job. He’d only grabbed it because the ramp had been open and stealing another Fighter meant climbing up to the docking station again, which made him the perfect target for blasters. He now wished he’d taken the risk.

“Ren wants me alive,” Finn provided as he looked around the consoles for the firing system. “But we can shoot them. Just pretend this is an X-Wing.”

Poe looked downright offended. “This is nothing like an-” He pulled a face and then grinned. “Hold on. You may be on to something.”

He folded the wings back down so they were shorter but kept them angled out to the sides. Although they couldn’t be completely horizontal with the body of the ship, he flattened them out as far as they could go. The cannons were clustered close to the cockpit, pivoting from the inner corner of the wings.

“Let’s see if this makes my life easier,” he mumbled as he accelerated through the trees and took two sharp lefts. It didn’t shake the Tie Fighters but he managed to catch up to the slower pilots. “You good for those guns? I can jump in too.”

“I’ve got it,” Finn assured as he watched the weapon system track the nearest ship. As soon as it was in range, he pulled at the triggers in front of the seat. Neither of them  were ready for the speed at which the cannons fired. “Sensitive tech.”

“Good. Keep it up. I’ll catch them out around these rocks. We can’t waste too much time otherwise the whole fleet will be after us.”

With the slimmer design, the command shuttle could spin and move with more agility. It became easier to duck around mountains and pivot back on the following enemies before they’d entirely caught up. Poe was certain this manoeuvre would not work if they could shoot back, at least in a lethal manner. The blasts were aimed at the wings but the reinforced armour on the retracted metal was built specifically to withstand enemy fire. Keeping them compact was twice as beneficial. But soon, more than half the pilots on base were deployed.

“I’ll keep up low to the ground and make a jump. It won’t save us completely but if we can find somewhere to confuse them, we may just survive that too.” He took the shuttle around some outcrops and dipped down out of sight.

“Which planet?”

Poe shook his head. “No planet. I’m thinking a trade route. There’s some busy ones in the Outer Rim.” 

He primed the engines on the next flat terrain, ignoring the Tie Fighters quickly catching up to his position. He typed co-ordinates with one hand and held the thruster with the other, his eyes fixed out of the viewport. Poe glanced once to Finn and pushed the engines into hyperdrive.

When Poe slowed them down again, he was certain the ship was being tracked. There was no way it wouldn’t be. He only hoped they’d get enough time to ditch it and escape. But first, he had to dodge the many oncoming ships using the route. The Tie Fighters may not have the same speed as the shuttle but they’d get there soon. It was only a matter of time.

“We’re coming up on a refuelling station. Should be some ships for us to sneak onboard. You ready?”

Finn nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

The station was filled with freighters and non-documented carriers, some kitted out so extremely they’d be impounded instantly in the Core. Poe found a quiet hangar to dock inside and ran out with Finn at his side. People looked at them in shock but they ignored it. One of the attendants threw their arms in the air as Poe tried to walk away.

“Hey! You can’t just park it here, you have to pay or we’ll scrap it!”

Finn chuckled. “Just scrap it, then.”

It didn’t satisfy the attendant but Poe had already walked away and Finn jogged after him. He smacked the pilot’s shoulder with a grin.

“Just like an X-Wing, huh?”

Poe huffed and rolled his eyes. “It got the job done.” He stopped mid-step, turned back the way he came and looked down at his black armour. “Can this be tracked?”

“No, the helmet’s got ID codes in it but not the rest. Why?”

“You think we can convince those guys I’m First Order?” He nudged his thumb towards two stormtroopers on their break sat on a bench in the distance.

Finn looked mildly amused. “Maybe if you shaved your head. That mess isn’t exactly regulation length.”

“Mess? Oh, fine, okay. No clever disguise. I’ll have to ditch this then.”

“Let’s just sneak on a freighter like we agreed. Keep it for now. You might not fool them but you’ll fool anyone else if we get questioned. Just act like a dick, it works. Most times.”

Poe flashed him a smirk and clapped his shoulder. “Let’s find us a ride then.”

After ten minutes of searching the station and ducking out of sight of patrolling stormtroopers, Poe sat down in a small gap between containers onboard an enormous freighter headed to the trading planet of  Batuu . Finn curled up beside him and soon fell asleep with his head on Poe’s shoulder. It would be some time before they arrived. The freighter was nothing but rust and its engines just as ancient as its captain, who hopefully wouldn’t send anyone down to check for stowaways.

They’d get off at  Batuu and move forward from there. Poe couldn’t begin to imagine how he’d ever get Rey back but he had to hold onto hope, just like Leia taught him. His muffled sobs woke Finn and as he opened his mouth to apologise, Finn pulled him against his chest. Finn couldn’t begin to understand how it felt to lose his entire family and he knew no words could comfort the grieving pilot, so he held him close until they both passed out from exhaustion.


	9. Chapter 9

** Chapter ** ** 9 **

“Sir, we’ve located the command shuttle but no sign of the fugitives yet.”

Silence followed the tech’s report. They all looked to Lord Ren for an outburst but he stood stock-still, metal mask fixed straight at the large monitors.

“Is there anyone in this room capable of completing a single task?” He pondered slowly. “Or are you all useless and brain-dead? I told you to capture the prisoners and you let them escape, all the way to the Outer Rim.”

“Sir, we’ve still got to check the station and its ships,” the tech bravely countered, standing from his desk holding his  datapad in a crushing grip. No one around him dared back him up. “And we can track any departing ships-”

Lord Ren threw his hand out and choked the tech from across the room, never once looking away from the displays. 

“Undocumented ships. Do you think their navigational course will be written down somewhere? Search that station from top to bottom. And recover my shuttle.” He squeezed tighter. “Are you capable of  _ that _ , sergeant?”

The tech dropped to his knees as Lord Ren let go. He turned on his heel, ignoring the approaching General’s glare, and made his way to the transit system. He didn’t want to hear his constant nagging. Ren would have to accept the fact that FN-2187 had slipped through his fingers yet again and bring that terrifying fact to Snoke. 

The wall across from Rey could not have been fitted with a window so instead, a screen replaced the dark  ferricrete and a panel was fitted beside it to change the scenery. She’d already flickered through the various andromedas and biomes, one which resembled the terrain outside the base as if it was a live feed, and she’d settled on the one that reminded her most of home. Sprawling dunes of sand and a binary sunrise.

Rey only wished she could reach out and feel the rough grains on her fingers and the overbearing heat on her face. The rest of the room was dark-walled and spartan, sparsely furnished with a bed tucked into one corner and a door to a refresher.  She couldn’t understand why she’d woken up with a fresh  bacta strip on her thigh and in a private room instead of a cell. The sheets were messy because she’d fought against the restraining cuffs and won. Now, Rey waited with her back to the door and her eyes fixed on the desert, legs crossed, as she meditated to pass the time. 

Finn and Poe were gone. Hopefully safe. She fully trusted Poe’s flying abilities in stressful situations, no one could fly like he could. She spared a kind thought towards them, wherever they were. They were certainly not close. She strained to feel their presence and took that as a good sign. The last thing she wanted was to see them around here again.

There were steps outside the door and Rey closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in and out, and readied herself for a moment she’d waited years for. The door slid open but she did not budge.

“I did not want to see you in a cell,” Ren admitted gently as he locked the door behind him. 

She opened her eyes but kept them on the screen “This room doesn’t need bars to be a cell. I’m your prisoner, regardless of the décor. Which I admit is rather... tasteless.”

“I can have it changed if you’d like. You’ll be my guest for some time, I imagine. I’d prefer it if you were comfortable.”

“Guest? That’s a nice word.”

Ren grew more anxious the longer she refused to turn and look at him. “Why did you come here? Why now?”

She shrugged. “It was luck. And I came here to bring you home, but you and your First Order destroyed any chance at that. Tell me,” Rey finally looked over her shoulder. “Do you feel any remorse for killing your family?”

“We were tied by blood, nothing more. I have no family.”

“Not even your Order? At least you haven’t deluded yourself into thinking Snoke is any kind of family to you.”

“They are a means to an end.”

Rey scoffed and spun herself around, still cross-legged. Ren took the chance to sit on the corner of the bed.

“And what end is that?” 

“You know what I seek.”

She rolled her eyes. “This shit again? When are you going to let the past go? Vader is nothing but a ghost. He has nothing to give you.”

“Spoken from someone still clinging to the past.” She flinched. “That’s why you’re here. You can’t let what we shared  rest either. Tell me, have you never wondered about your real parents? Your heritage?”

“I’m a Skywalker. I don’t need to know anything else.”

“You adopted that name. You don’t even know who you really are. I remember, it used to keep you up at night.”

“And now it doesn’t. I moved on. You adopted your own name too, Ben.”

He leaned forward to remove his helmet and set it beside him. He didn’t want to hide from her. Rey swallowed and forced her face to stay neutral, though inside she was comparing him to the teenager she’d known for almost eight years. His hair was much darker and his face longer and more gaunt, but she still saw Ben in his eyes.

“I prefer to be called  Kylo . It suits me more. I chose it myself, it wasn’t forced on me. Much like you prefer to be a Skywalker instead of a nobody from Tatooine.” He chuckled softly. “We’ve both come a long way since those days.”

“You chose the  Dark Side . I didn’t.”

He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I chose knowledge and power. I wanted to be more than the Jedi would allow me to be. I took my life into my own hands.”

Rey shook her head. “I haven’t been blind to your actions, I know the horrors you’ve committed. And I  _ know _ the boy I knew would never have allowed it to happen.”

“Ben was weak. He and all the others were holding me back. I had to cut him out. I’m stronger now than you could ever imagine.”

“I don’t doubt your strength. I never did, you were always better than the rest, it’s why I could never beat you in a fight. What I  _ doubt _ is your belief that all of this is necessary. What are you even proving? That you’re strong and intelligent? You don’t need to kill people to prove that!”

“You’d never understand.” Despite his size, Ren managed to look small, like each blow was striking at the delicate foundations of his morals. He pulled himself completely onto the bed and crossed his legs, and dropped his hands into his lap. “You lot always had this idea of what I was supposed to be.”

“Such as?”

“My parents wanted an obedient doll they could dress up and show off at the Senate parties. Skywalker wanted a great Jedi to lead the next generation. The alliance saw the next leader.” He paused when he felt his eyes sting. “I didn’t want any of that. I just wanted to be me. So I took the risk and ran.”

Rey had been agreeing with him right until that last point. She frowned deeply and glared icily at Kylo. 

“You did more than run!” Rey stood up abruptly and wished her  lightsaber was in her hand. She couldn’t strike  Kylo down but she wanted to make him afraid.

“What choice did I have?!” He pulled himself to his feet, towering over her. “He was going to kill me!”

“Snoke?”

Kylo took a step back, bumping into the bed frame. His eyes searched Rey’s face before it dawned on him. “He never told you. Of course, why would he?”

“Who? I’m not playing games anymore, Kylo!”

“Luke. He hunted me down and blamed everything on me! I just wanted to leave. I had to run, don’t you understand?”

Rey scoffed and shook her head. It was impossible. “No. He would never.”

“I can show you.”  Kylo held out his hand and Rey watched it suspiciously. “I can show you everything. Please, trust me. I would not lie about this.”

She took his hand.

Rey knew the room she found herself in just by the sweet scent of grass in the light rainfall and the perfume clinging to the pillow beneath her cheek. It was warm enough for the window to stay open at night but she shivered as she pulled the blanket away.  If she wanted to look around, she’d know exactly where each photograph and trinket was kept. Ben’s room was etched so deeply into her memories she’d never forget it. But it wasn’t her body she was in, it wasn’t her memory she was reliving. It was Ben’s. 

His legs swung off the side of the bed. His eyes scanned the darkness of the room before getting up. She was just watching it all happen, following Ben out of the bedroom with a bag on his shoulders and a hood to cover his recognisable face.

He was escaping. No-  _ fleeing _ , like a coward. Rey knew exactly where she had been at the time, sound asleep down that same corridor without any clue that her only friend was leaving her without a word. Ben had been the only one to go missing that night.

He was on the edge of a treeline when he heard a deafening boom coming from the Jedi temple, and he turned to see one crumbling wall go up in flames. It spread so fast across the stones despite the rain, consuming everything in its path. Screams came from some of the lucky apprentices who’d sprinted out of bed and into the courtyard. Rey was certain Ben would carry on walking away but he ran back, towards the crying children and the fire.

The smoke was suffocating and the longer Ben spent inside the burning inferno, the more Rey felt like she’d pass out. He was trying to pull any younglings he found towards safety, even as the heat burned his skin and his bag and cloak caught fire. He threw them aside and made his way back out, breaking through a stone wall with the Force. Under the cover of thick trees nearby, he fell to his knees and gasped for fresh air. His only repeating thought was Rey’s safety. He had to keep looking.

“It wasn’t enough that you mocked my teachings,” Luke yelled from above, towering over Ben’s slumped form. “I tried to keep you from the  Dark Side , I truly did. You failed me, Ben. You failed your brothers and sisters. But this...” Luke stared off into the distance, at the flames burning bright through the trees. “This is the behaviour of a monster. How could you?”

Ben looked up with tearful eyes and reached out with a singed hand. “Master... I- I just wanted to leave!”

Luke glared at him and suddenly kicked at Ben’s shoulder, knocking him onto his back. “There is no hope for someone like you. I won’t allow the  Dark Side to rise again.”

The green  saber ignited and Rey felt her heart stop short. She had to remember it wasn’t her Luke was threatening, but she could not look away. Ben reached out again with a whimper.

“Please...”

Luke swung the  saber down just as Ben rolled to his side, catching his shoulder. It burned right through his sleeves, leaving a glowing gash. Ben screamed out and threw Luke backwards in desperation, far away enough to give him a chance to run. It didn’t take long for Luke to catch up, slashing at any obstacle in his path. 

Ben smacked into something solid. A tree, perhaps? He’d been too preoccupied looking over his shoulders to look ahead.

“Get behind me,” a man with a grid-like silver helmet instructed, his gloved hands shoving Ben where he wanted him before the teen had fully comprehended the demand. “There is a ship just beyond those trees. Run to it.”

Ben stared at the back of the man’s helmet in fear. He was dressed in dark robes and he held a lightsaber in each hand. They were red blades. The man turned back towards him.

“I’ll protect you. Now go.”

Luke had reached them. 

Ben ran for his life, right until he came across the ship. It was an old four-winged gunship which had seen better days. Parts of its dark hull was scratched and its engines had been refitted for speed. He glanced back but he was alone, neither men had followed him but he could hear their duel in the distance. 

“Ben?”

He turned to the shuttle and looked up to a human woman close to his age trotting down the ramp. She dressed similarly to the man in the woods. She held out her hand like a friend.

“It’s alright, we came to help you.”

Ben didn’t take her hand. Instead, he stepped back nervously. “Who are you?”

“Lord Snoke told us to find you, he said you needed help. Come, I have medical supplies on the ship.”

At the mention of Snoke, Rey panicked but Ben had an entirely different reaction. He relaxed and then looked back at the woods. “Your friend is still out there.”

“Vicrul will be fine. We’re trained for this. Come, take my hand.”

He did as told and followed her onto the gunship, and Rey slowly felt her connection to her friend fade away like waking from a dream. She blinked a few times until she found herself looking at the dunes of Tatooine on the screen. 

Behind her,  Kylo was sat with his back to hers, crying softly. He wiped at his eyes and leaned his head back against hers. Rey noticed she was crying as well.

“I had no choice,” he insisted softly, “Luke was convinced I had started the fire. You saw it yourself. I had nothing to do with any of this. I just wanted a new life for myself. I didn’t even have a real plan except find a ship and leave. I was going to steal an X-Wing. I never planned any of this. You have to believe me.”

Rey spun to lock her arms around his chest and shoved her face against his neck. Her grip was crushingly tight and he embraced its familiarity, placing his hands over hers.

“I do. I believe you.”

“Snoke saved my life that night. If he hadn’t sent  Vicrul and  Kuruk to find me, Luke would’ve... I trusted him, Rey. And he turned on me without a second thought.”

Rey loosened her grip but didn’t let go. Her tears soaked the back of  Kylo’s collar but neither cared. 

“He told me you burned everything. That you destroyed the temple and killed younglings.”

Kylo shrugged her off and pulled at his shirt, yanking the layers away from his shoulder to reveal a long thick scar that curved down the bone to the middle of his bicep. Only a lightsaber could cause such a wound and although it was healed and white with age, Kylo shivered when Rey traced it with her fingers.

“He never would’ve told you the truth, Rey. We all looked up to him as a legend but he lied to you. I’m sorry you waited this long for the truth.”

“I know now. That’s what matters.”

He righted his clothing and turned to face her. “I could feel you had survived. You have no idea how many times I wanted to see you again. But I can’t leave. Not with Snoke.” Taking her hands into his, he noticed how calloused they were. Like his own. “I need your help to get away from all of this but I can’t if he’s alive.”

“I can help you with that.”

“He’ll be suspicious of you so let me take you on as my apprentice.” Rey frowned and was about to shake her head. “Please, it’s the only way. I can’t take him on my own. It would just be for a while.”

“I don’t want to join the  Dark Side ,  Kylo .”

“It’s not what you believe it is. Luke lied to all of us, to keep us from being better than him and finding out the truth. Trust me. Please, Rey. I can be your teacher and in time, we’ll make our move.”

Rey averted her eyes from his pleading ones. “What happens to Finn?”

Kylo’s jaw clenched. “Snoke still wants him but we can keep him distracted and away from... Finn.”

“Then... I guess we’re both going to have to trust each other.”

“It won’t be easy but it’s the only way.” He took her face into his hands, tempted to kiss her forehead like he used to when they were so much younger. Instead, he leaned his head against hers. “Thank you, Rey, for believing in me.”

“I do.”

Kylo pulled away reluctantly and swallowed back tears. He stroked her cheek and stood up, though he kept his helmet under his arm. For a moment, he observed her. She’d bulked up from her training and her face was no longer round and soft. Still, he saw the little girl in her, desperately seeking a friend among all the stern adults.

“I’m glad you came here, Rey.”

She smiled softly. “So am I.”

He couldn’t bring himself to smile back and he locked the door behind him. With his helmet back on, he made his way through the transit system and down into Snoke’s great throne.

He knelt before it and unlatched his helmet, setting it beside his knee. His tears had dried along the way but his eyes were still red and puffy. He hoped it wouldn’t show so much through the hologram. Snoke appeared before him, impatiently tapping his elongated fingers on the arm rests.

“Well? Were you successful?”

“She will become my apprentice. Her loyalty was still there after all those years, like you said, Master. It was not difficult to convince her to listen to me.”

Snoke leaned forward with a dark grin but  Kylo kept his head bowed. “Excellent. Finally, at long last, you bring me success.”

“I will train her in the ways of the  Dark Side , Master. She’s powerful and willing to do as I say.”

“Good. I expect regular updates on her progress. Bring her here once you believe her to be ready, and do not let her slip away,” Snoke instructed, his threat coming through as temporary pressure on  Kylo’s throat. “She will be a powerful addition to my collection. You have done well, boy, but you have not yet redeemed yourself. I still expect you to find this gifted trooper, by any means necessary. Ransom him if you must.”

“Yes, Master.”

* * *

The Falcon was the first to land in a field of tall grass, its engines cooling quickly in the damp, foggy air. It was safer to be parked a distance away from the abandoned base, just in case they had not been the first to come back here in nearly thirty years. Han wasn’t worried about First Order patrols but raiders and squatters who’d found the unremarkable planet of D’Qar. Well, unremarkable to most folks.

From the air, the base appeared as grassy knolls with a weather-beaten  duracrete runway down the centre that connected each of the perfectly placed mounds. It could’ve appeared as a simple settlement, nestled between larger hills and dense forests. Han wouldn’t have looked twice but Leia insisted on landing. He trusted her judgement. After all, she’d been the one to demand some sort of off-record designation for all alliance members back in the day, while he’d been gallivanting somewhere or other.

The entrances were all locked and none of the passcodes worked. It was thirty years old. He’d be shocked if the power still worked. After the fifth negative buzz from the lock, Chewbacca growled and nudged R2-D2 aside. The droid beeped something rude and whirled back to C-3PO, engaging in a long discussion about Wookie manners. 

“Uh, Chewie, I wouldn’t-” Han’s suggestion was cut short as the Wookie fired his  bowcaster at the lock and it opened, allowing the metal gate to be manually raised. 

Chewie shrugged and aimed his weapon into the darkness of the base, and started walking. When Leia followed without question, Han frowned.

“It’s safer out here, you know.”

She turned and smirked. “I’m safer with him and his bow. You’re welcome to stay in the rain if you like. Or maybe stay on the Falcon and keep  Threepio company.”

The droid and Han exchanged looks and Han quickly caught up with Leia. She said nothing but her smug smile made Han roll his eyes. Artoo flicked on his torch to help light the way, and Threepio walked behind them nervously.

“Are you sure no one should keep watch outside, General?” He asked, glancing back at the entrance. 

“Luke’s got it covered,” she explained. “Come on, what’s wrong with you lot? I thought you liked  adventure .” Chewie answered and she chuckled. “You’re right, they are getting old.”

“I like adventures plenty,” Han defended. Somewhere deeper in the base, a noise echoed, like something metal was dropped. He jumped and tried to nonchalantly shrug it off. “I just don’t like dark and creepy places. I prefer more fun things, like Coruscant’s lower levels. That’s adventure.”

“Ha. Paid for, perhaps.” She winked and Han blushed. 

Threepio turned to Artoo and quietly asked, “Do you know what they’re talking about?”

Artoo replied with low beeps but Han heard him anyways and threw the Astromec a withering glare. Threepio did not have the function to blush like humans but he felt the robotic equivalent of embarrassment and did not ask for further information on Han’s exploits. 

“Picking up any lifeforms, Artoo?” Han asked quickly to change the subject.

The droid beeped a no.

“Good. But what made that noise?”

“Let’s find out,” Leia insisted. She stayed at Chewie’s side but if she had a torch and a bigger gun, she would’ve run ahead of the group. Han didn’t dare suggest the mere idea in case she did. “Regardless, this place seems like it will do the trick. I remember the underground hangars and fuelling stations were of big importance back then.”

“Makes the old days look easy compared to now.”

“If you say so.”

The base was not built in a complicated way but it had been so long since Leia had been here, only for a passing visit, that it took some time to locate the heart of the hidden bunker. Roots had grown out of the walls and dust floated through the cracks not filled by dirt or plants. Most of the consoles were covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. 

“Artoo, see if you can get the power going.”

The droid plugged into one of the wall panels, sending a little surge of power to the system until he found the right connector. The bunker hummed to life with a shudder and the overhead lights flickered on. The machines around them beeped and scanned the satellites nearby for new information. Everything was unused so Leia wasn’t expecting the navigational system to catch up in an instant. The maps had to update, as well as search for any new alliance messages floating around. It had decades to catch up on.

Leia smiled and clapped her hands. “Well, step one complete.”

Han dusted off a chair and sat down with a groan. “I suppose you’ll want to wander around.”

“Of course. Coming?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he deadpanned. “Chewie, you keep an eye out here with Artoo, make sure all that data from the ship is coming in.” He glanced at the golden droid.

“Have you got a job for me, sir?”

“Yeah, you can walk in front of us so if anything jumps out, they’ll eat you first.”

Threepio startled back and flayed his arms. “Oh goodness. I don’t think many things would eat me, sir.”

Han stood and clapped the droid’s shoulder. “Maybe not, but I’m sure you’d make a great  Rancor chew-toy.”

Leia rolled her eyes as she walked by the stunned droid. “He’s kidding.” She took Han’s elbow and let him lead her towards an unexplored corridor. “When are you going to stop bullying him?”

“When I’m dead. And even that’s not a guarantee.”

“Which part? The dying part or the no more bullying part?”

He snorted and patted her hand. “I’ll get back to you on that. So, left or right? Which creepy hallway do you want to see next?”

“The lights are on, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Doesn’t make it less creepy. Pick, your Highness.”

Leia gave him an incredulous look, pulling her face away from him in amused shock. “Well, that I haven’t heard in a while. Left, please, Mr Organa.”

Han shuddered dramatically. “Keep your crown to yourself.”

He took her down the hallway after  Threepio , checking into every room that was open. Anything in those crates could be valuable. Except food. Unless it was seriously well packaged and dehydrated for long term storage. Either way, he would not be the one opening them just in case they’d spawned a whole ecosystem of mold inside.

“I did keep it. You never wanted to be more than a rich smuggler and I accepted that long ago.”

Han raised a doubtful brow. “So you’re not mad we never married?”

“We had everything together. Adding a ring and some signatures would not have changed our lives.” Still, her face told him otherwise. “I just hope that one day, we’ll be a family again.”

“We will. Give him time.”

“A decade is long enough, surely.”

Han stopped in his tracks and held Leia gently by her shoulders. “You and I would not be here right now if he was beyond hope. Remember that.”

“I know. I just...” She reached up to her throat. “That was not the son I raised, Han. He would not even look at me when-” She sniffed and looked away before Han could think she was weak. Habits of being a public icon died hard, if they died at all. 

“Snoke is manipulating him. We have to trust Ben to do the right thing and I know he will. Have faith in him. There’s always hope.”

Leia scoffed humourlessly. “Normally, I’m the one saying that.”

“Well, maybe you need to hear it too. Look, whatever happens, I’ll be by your side. I’m not good at being a parent or sticking around, but I’ll do whatever it takes to help you both. I refuse to believe our son is gone.”

Without any witnesses besides her life partner, Leia allowed herself to cry into Han’s chest. She held onto his arms as he kissed the top of her head. 

“I beg your pardon for interrupting,”  Threepio cut in, half-sticking out of a doorway, “But I believe there’s something you should see, General.”

“This had better be good, tin-can,” Han grumbled as Leia put on a fake smile and masked her pain flawlessly. Almost flawlessly. He knew her too well.

They followed the droid down into one of the hangars where relics of the rebel alliance were kept. Old ships covered in tarps and dust. Among them was a clean black and orange X-Wing, one that they both instantly recognised.

“His emergency programming brought him to the nearest rebel hideout,” Threepio explained, as BB-8 shyly rolled out of cover and hid behind the droid’s legs. “Which so happened to be D’Qar. I’m afraid Captain Dameron was not with him. He was captured by the First Order, along with our newest member.”

BB-8 rolled over towards Leia and beeped quietly. 

“I’m glad you’re here too, little one,” she replied, bending down to pet the round head. “We’ve had a setback but don’t worry, we’ll help Poe and Finn however we can. I don’t suppose you know where Rey went.”

BB-8 shook its head.

Leia glanced up to Han in worry, but he had a strange expression on his face. She couldn’t decipher it and it only made her worry more. But for now, she kept it to herself.

“I’ll send  word for the others to come down. This base will be perfect for us.”


	10. Chapter 10

** Chapter 10 **

Four knocks. That was their code. Do not open the door for anyone else. Finn quickly unlocked and unlatched the door so Poe could squeeze inside, his bag full of stolen food and credits. Repurposed, they called it. Non-consented charity from the rich folks wandering around Black Spire outpost.

He dumped the bag on the table of their little home. Little was generous. It was a shoebox for infants. Two rooms to fit a kitchen, sleeping-living spaces, and one of those rooms happened to be a tiny, barely-functioning refresher. Poe wasn’t one to complain, he’d slept in worse places, but Finn hated it. He may have lived his life around others but there was space to move without bumping into each other. And everything worked or was repaired within a day or two.

They had been here for five weeks. 

Poe had traded the black armour for credits and traded  _ those _ with a suspicious blue Twi’lek for this lovely home in the nastier part of the outpost. She hadn’t asked questions and they both preferred it that way. More than enough smugglers and criminals wandered around Batuu, it was infamous for it. 

“We’re not eating like kings tonight, I’m afraid,” Poe apologised as he sat down on their shared bed. It was a wooden slab with two blankets, one beneath them and one on top to ward off the cold. There was no heating- not unless Poe intended to pay for the clunky heater to be repaired, which he didn’t.

Finn shrugged. “It’s enough for now.”

He was lying. The four cans of rations would not last them more than a couple days. Poe would soon have to steal again and risk getting caught.

“It gets worse. Your face made it here. The First Order’s offering a ransom for your arrest.”

“How much?”

“Nearly a hundred-thousand credits, I think. I only looked for a second but there were a lot of zeros.”

Finn whistled low. “They really want me, huh? Guess that means no more going outside.”

“If they’re stretching all the way out to here, it means they’ve got no clue where we are. But you’re right, no more wandering around. We can’t afford to get caught. They’ll kill me... and you, well-”

“I know.”

Finn sighed and sat down beside Poe. For the dozenth time since they’d snuck off that freighter, maybe even before that, Finn thanked whoever had thrown Poe his way. He would’ve been caught, killed, or worse, by now if Poe hadn’t been there. They were more than equal now, maybe Finn owed him just a bit more these days. He glanced at the pilot and noticed his eyes were distant, lost somewhere Finn  wasn’t able to follow. He placed his hand on Poe’s knee and squeezed, gently bringing him back to awareness.

“How are you holding up?”

Finn had asked that a hundred times now, and Poe had done the same. It was just a way for them to keep each other’s heads above the water. 

“I’ll be alright.”

“You can talk to me if you need to.”

Poe closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m alright. We just need to get some more money and we can move on. Won’t be long now.” 

It was the same answer Poe had been giving him for days, refusing to address his grief in any way. Finn knew better than to push. There was a hole in one wall because he’d tried to get Poe to talk, and the pilot had been overwhelmed. He’d balled up his aggression and directed it away from Finn, but it had made the line between okay and not okay  _ very _ clear.

“I think I’ve got a lead on a job,” Poe said after some time. “Could take us off  Batuu without needing to hide in a cargo hold again.”

Finn perked up. “Anything I can do? I’m sick of sitting around.”

Poe opened his eyes slowly and turned his head towards Finn. “Only if you can ignore your morals and just get the job done.”

“You’re not exactly selling it to me. What is it?”

“Smuggling spice.”

Finn laughed. “What, like  huberry salt? Can’t be that hard- I've got it all wrong, haven’t I?”

Poe chuckled at the ex-trooper's quick turnabout and nodded. “Yeah, just a bit. It’s bad, Finn. Hard to find these days unless it’s synthetic, which is why they’re paying so much for this job. It’s the real stuff. And since the First Order’s planning to set up in Coruscant these days, they’ll be extra strict with their laws. Those blockades won't last forever.”

“We’re sneaking it into Coruscant?”

“No! No... nothing that stupid. It’s going to  Takodana , and they’ll split it to other ships. I don’t know which one we’ll end up on or where it will go, but... It’s risky, Finn. Very risky. But it’s that or we stay here and wait to get caught.”

Poe looked at Finn like he wanted him to make the decision for him.

“I don’t know. I’ve been following your lead. Do you think we should?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s do it. I trust you, Poe.”

Poe smiled weakly so Finn nudged him with his shoulder, hoping to make him smile more. It started a nudging war. One that Finn lost when he fell off the side of the bed. He hadn’t heard Poe laugh so much in ages. When the pilot pulled him back up, he wrapped his arm around him and kept him there.

What little possessions they had was stuffed into a bag and Poe mockingly waved goodbye to the shoebox house as they left during the night. Finn clung to the shadows and relied on Poe to walk between alleys. As he moved out of sight of a group of people, he overheard them talking about white soldiers spotted in the area. It was time to leave.

Finn had no idea how Poe always found the best  intel but they soon came upon the smuggler’s freighter. Dozens of crew members were busy filling the hold and they gave the pair dirty looks. Who Finn could only guess was the captain, a grey-skinned Weequay with spikes protruding from his face, stopped them coming any closer. He eyed Poe warily.

“You again, huh. Decided to cash in?”

“I thought it best not to lose out on the payload,” Poe explained with a shrug. He inclined his head towards Finn. “I brought a friend, he’ll stay quiet and do what he’s told.”

The captain looked unimpressed. “You seem familiar.”

Finn swallowed nervously. “I’ve got one of those faces.”

“Just keep your mouths shut and get the job done. If any of this goes missing, I’ll kill you both myself.”

“Yes, sir,” Poe replied sternly. The captain gave them one more look before marching off to bark at some other unfortunate person. “Delightful man.”

“Sure is.”

“Come on, let’s  _ earn _ our money this time.”

They didn’t waste much longer standing around. The spice was hidden carefully in non-descript boxes, unknown to most of the crew it seemed. Only a couple similarly spiked people gave Finn and Poe a nudge. It was heavy work without the help of droids and after five weeks of little movement, Finn was exhausted quickly.

Once the freighter was ready, they climbed aboard and found a quiet spot to sit and wait. Neither of them  were welcomed to join the regular crew. 

* * *

Finn pressed himself against the viewport and watched the approaching green planet with a growing smile.  Batuu had been pretty for certain but its most picturesque parts had been unreachable for them, locked with too many witnesses. 

Along the lengthy passage, Poe had told him all about  Takodana and its history with smugglers and traders wishing to avoid the New Republic’s regulations and permit checkpoints on the main hyperspace routes. The ship would only stop for a brief time to unload, refuel, and head back to Batuu. During that time, the captain would let them know which ship to board next to guard the spice.

There wouldn’t be time to walk around and see anything, so Finn took in as much as he could now. The descent was bumpy but it allowed him to look closer at the immense green landscape. Sprawling lakes spanned for miles, surrounded by thick forests and grassy plains, all above a blue sky and shining sun. Finn wanted to find a nice spot to sit in the heat and lie there until his troubles went away.

He forced himself to look away down to Poe’s sleeping face. The pilot was half-slumped against Finn’s side and the only thing holding him upright was an arm wrapped tight around him. If Finn decided to let go, Poe would surely fall over into his lap.

He shook him gently until he heard a little sleepy grumble.

“We’re here,” Finn said softly. 

Poe groaned and opened his eyes after a few attempts. He wasn’t graceful in waking up, more like a grumpy old dog not wishing to move. Poe glanced out of the viewport and winced at the sunlight.

“Finally.”

The air on  Takodana was warm and humid but pleasantly so to Finn. It was a relief compared to the snow and cold interiors of ships. He welcomed the sunshine for a moment before someone bumped past him rudely, bringing Finn back to reality. He had a job to do, sadly.

The crates weren’t going to lift themselves.

Poe was busy speaking with the captain while Finn worked. Probably asking which transport to jump on. The landing area was  old and the stone floor was cracked in more places than he could count, sprouting with weeds and grass. In the distance was a towering outpost. Poe called it a castle. Its yellow stone walls were very visible through the gaps in the sparse trees, some draped with colourful flags and bunting. Even over the noise of the workers, he could hear music and chatter coming from the castle.

Poe suddenly slapped him on the shoulder, startling Finn.

“The transport’s coming in soon,” Poe said with a small smile, guiding his hands along the edge of the crate to give Finn some help. “Fuck, this is heavy!” 

“I know. I’ve been the one lifting it.”

They moved carefully to place the crate on a floating repulsor lift so it could be taken away by someone else.

“Why don’t you... you know?” Poe wiggled his fingers.

“Because this-” Finn wiggled his own fingers in Poe’s face, “-will get me identified. I don’t care if we’re alone right now. I can’t risk it. I can’t risk being sent to Snoke.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I... remember when you asked me if I was jealous?”  Finn didn’t bother to start lifting the next one. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and nodded. “Well, I may have been...fibbing.”

Finn wasn’t impressed. “So, you _are_ jealous.”

“It’s cool, okay? Can you really blame me? And if I could make my life easier like that, I’d want to use it.” Poe sighed and looked up towards the top of the cargo hold. “But alas, I am not as gifted. I am but a mere human.”

Finn huffed. “Uh huh. What does that make me? A god? I’ll take it. Does that mean you’ll-”

“Hey! Back to work!” A crew member shouted from deeper in the hold. Finn rolled his eyes and Poe chuckled.

“Finish that sentence later, huh?”

Finn could’ve sworn he saw Poe wink, but he was too preoccupied lifting to pay much attention. 

Another twenty minutes and the cargo had been completely unloaded and separated for the new ships. Poe did not say goodbye to the captain or his rude crew. He and a few others were left to guard the crates of the incoming ship. It was behind schedule and Poe quickly grew bored of waiting.

He turned to Finn and mumbled, “Want to go check out that outpost?”

“We can’t just leave.”

“Why not? Five minutes. Come on.” Poe turned to the nearest guard. “We’ll be back in five. Smoke break.”

He was barely acknowledged and took that as a good sign. No one argued for them to stick around. It probably meant more money if there were less helpers. Poe took Finn’s offered arm and wandered towards the castle on the edge of a sparkling lake.

The courtyard was overgrown but colourful, with hundreds of flags criss-crossing above them and casting their colours on the stones below. At the end of it was a staircase and a large door, guarded high above by a strange humanoid statue that stretched its arms out like an invitation from the tops of the ramparts. The shade provided by the tall walls was refreshing.

“Have you been here before then?” Finn asked as Poe walked confidently up to the door.

“Once or twice when I was a kid but I wasn’t allowed inside. All the drinking and stuff, I guess.  Kinda stupid.”

“But you’re going to drink now, aren’t you?”

Poe nodded and grinned. “We earned it.” He opened the door and held his arm out with a flourish. “After you, oh Godly one.”

“Thanks, I think.”

Finn stepped inside, already feeling the music pumping through the floor as it got louder. It wasn’t bad, just maybe not his type. He looked around and was surprised to find he and Poe were a rare sight. He spotted one pink-haired human in the corner and she was passed out drunk at her table. Everyone else was... different. Just like on  Jakku , Finn wasn’t sure if it was okay to stare at the many spikes or tentacles or multiple eyes. 

“You said five minutes. It’s been longer.” Finn grabbed his friend’s arm. “You alright?”

The door behind them opened again and Poe stiffened. “We need to move. I thought we’d get longer.”

Poe walked briskly through the crowd, holding Finn’s hand as he led him, and stepped right into the barrel of a blaster. 

“Hey, look, let’s talk about this-” Poe suggested lightly as he raised his hands, let Finn’s drop. 

More blasters came up to their heads and Finn turned, back to back with Poe.

“How are we playing this?” He asked without taking his eyes off the guards who’d followed them from the landing bay.

“I-”

“Put your weapons away! This is a sanctuary, not a Hutt watering hole!”

A small woman with a large, oval head made her way through the tense crowd and Finn noticed she looked exactly like the statue outside. Her skin was orange and wrinkled and her eyes were enormously enlarged by a set of thick-rimmed goggles. People rushed to move out of her way as she climbed onto one of the tables to reach the men’s height.

“I don’t care what ill business you share but you will not fight on my turf. I have kept the peace here for a millennium and I intend to keep it that way. If you want to spill blood, you will do so outside and off my premises. Is that clear?”

The guards lowered their blasters reluctantly, as if they knew denying her demands would be met with an unfortunate end.

“Good. Now take it outside or drink. I don’t care which but those blasters stay holstered in here.”

One of the guards stepped closer to Poe. “You will have to come out some time. Your credits won’t buy your freedom here.”

They walked away towards the door, leaving Finn to exhale loudly and glance at the woman. 

“Thank you.”

She shrugged. “Rules are rules, kid. First drink’s on me. You look like you’re having a rough day.”

She climbed down off the table and led Finn to the bar, slamming a glass of something blue in front of him. Leaning forward on the surface, she observed Finn and enhanced her goggles to peer closer.

“Something wrong?”

“You don’t look like a troublemaker,” she answered, and then turned to Poe. “But you do. You remind me of my fifth husband.”

“Thanks?”

“That’s not a good thing. Those men will not budge, you clearly offended them.”

Poe shrugged. “Work problems. Nothing important.”

Finn whirled round to him. “Nothing important? We almost got shot! What happened to being careful? What did you do?”

Poe shrugged again and then cast a look to the woman, as if silently asking her to leave them alone. She laughed.

“You bring trouble to my home, I want to know why.”

“I want to know too,” Finn added.

“I stole something, okay? No big deal.”

To the woman, that meant very little, but Finn could only imagine what Poe had stolen and he would’ve slapped his friend if the no-violence rule wasn’t over their heads. He glared at Poe, who bowed his head in shame.

“Then I suggest you return whatever you stole back to them.”

“It’s not that simple.”

The woman rolled her eyes and glanced at Finn. “Are you stuck with him?”

Finn nodded. “He’s my friend.”

“He’s a dumbass. You,” she jabbed a sharp finger at Poe’s chest, “come with me. I will have a droid give it back.”

“Why are you doing this?” Finn asked when it seemed like Poe wasn’t going to take the kind offer.

“Because I keep the peace. That is the whole point of this place, so why would I want some lingering idiots around? Better to sort this now and move on, before an army comes through my door.” She jabbed Poe again. “Now, you, with me.  _ Now _ . It was an order.”

Poe rose out of his chair and followed the woman to a door, and disappeared behind it. Finn knew he had eyes on  him so he turned his back and sipped at the drink. It was sweet but it didn’t calm his nerves.

* * *

“These First Order checkpoints are getting ridiculous now,” Han complained as he re-routed the navigational system for the third time. “They’ve got too much free time on their hands. And money.”

Chewie growled beside him.

“I know we’re late! It’s not my fault their damn Star Destroyers are blocking off the backwater lanes!” Han pulled out of hyperspace and slowed the approach, trying to land somewhat smoothly on the ancient landing pad. “See, we made it. And we’ll just have to hurry and catch up to schedule. No problem.”

Chewie was not convinced but he said nothing and walked down onto the pad to greet the few men awaiting them. They flinched at the sight of the Wookie and frowned at Han. The leader looked the angriest.

“You’re late, Solo.”

Han threw his arms up. “Bala-Tik, good to see you again! I know, I know, but there’s a First Order blockade all over the Hosnian route and I was halfway across the  galaxy when I heard your message.” Han showed his palms in defence. “I did my best. You look good, new leg?”

Bala -Tik, a human smuggler far younger than Han, glanced down at the metal prosthetic. “Top of the line. Hunting pays well.”

“It sure does. Hell, I remember a time when Chewie and I-” 

“I don’t want to hear your stories, old man. You owe us a debt. I suggest you pay up.”

Han chuckled nervously. “Well, I don’t have it yet. I was just on my way to complete a job. Lots of credit. Very valuable cargo.”

“You’re wasting my time, Solo. I know where that money went.” The men surrounding the leader became antsy with their rifles. 

“Into procuring a freighter. For those  Rathtars . You remember that, surely.”

“Into paying your debt to Kanji-Klub back,” Bala-Tik corrected. “And now, you’re struggling to pay me back. So I suggest you hurry up. The First Order is closing in on all of us and I know which side I’d rather be on. You are a wanted man in almost every system. I’m sure the Order would look favourably on the Guavian Death Gang if we turned you in.”

Han took a step back. “Oh, come on, you don’t mean that. How long have we known each other? I was at your niece’s wedding!”

“Too long, Solo, and you weren’t invited to begin with.”

“I brought presents!”

Bala -Tik closed the gap between them. “Get back on that rust-bucket you call a ship and get me that spice you’re running. Or I’ll let the Order know you’re still wasting precious oxygen.”

Han swallowed. “The Hutts are behind that order.”

“Does it look like I care? Bring it to me and I’ll consider our debt settled once and for all, and after that I never want to see your face again.”

“Fine, you want to mess with the Hutt’s business? Be my guest. I know first-hand where that will get you.” Han slowly walked backwards to his ship, as Chewie kept a watchful eye on the gang members.

As soon as they were both back on the Falcon, Han kicked a wall. Chewie took it upon himself to close the ramp and start the engines again. Neither wanted to stick around.

“How did he know?” Han demanded, storming his way into his seat while Chewie got them in the air. “This was supposed to be a secret. Hell, it’s the Hutts. Who’s stupid enough to mess with them?”

Chewie threw him a look.

“Aside from us! But he’s not us. I swear, the whole  galaxy is changing these days, everyone’s taking stupid risks. And if we don’t deliver to the Hutts, we won’t get our money. Fuck!”

He punched the arm rest and slumped back.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

It wasn’t as easy as landing and filling up the hold so they could be on their way. Han knew something had gone wrong from the way the guards were pacing nervously.

“Hey, what’s going on?” He asked, eyeing the crates. He shuddered at what was hidden inside. 

“We have a situation.” 

Han did not want to be here. He wanted no part in any of this. Not the spice, not the rekindled relation to the Hutts, and certainly not standing on Maz’s doorstep.

The second he walked in with Chewie looming over his shoulder, Maz spotted him from her spot at the bar. She slammed the glass she was filling for someone down, spilling it on the counter.

“Han Solo!”

People turned and stared, and Han wanted to disappear away from their curious expressions. He nervously walked up to the bar and the person sat there quickly moved away at the sight of the Wookie. Or maybe they didn’t want to be near Han. He could understand that.

He put on his best smile. “Maz, hello. Long time no see.” 

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here. But, you brought my sweetheart with you.” She spared a tender smile to Chewie. “You and I will need to catch up.” Maz turned back to Han sourly. “Well... what do you want?”

“I heard there was a problem here. Couple of guys causing trouble.”

Maz sighed sadly. “Oh, Han... what have you gotten yourself into now?”

He leaned forward on the counter. “Look, I’ll tell you in  private but I need to find those men. Please tell me where they went.”

“I won’t tolerate violence.”

“I know. It won’t be violent. Let me talk to them.”

Han had no intention of keeping his word. If they resisted... Han needed that money more than them.

“Please, Maz.” In a quieter voice, he added, “For Leia’s sake. Please.”

She stepped back and waved weakly. “Fine. For her. Come, they’re down in the cellar.”

The lower levels of the castle were mostly used for storage. Old barrels of wine and imported food were stocked inside the many rooms lining the main corridor that spanned from a curving staircase. Maz also used it to help smugglers who’d share their profits with her. And for hiding fugitives.  She almost told Han that the men were wanted so he’d be cautious, but she feared if his standards had slipped so low, he might claim their ransoms. She pointed at one door.

Han pushed at the console and hoped they wouldn’t give him a hard time.

“Look, lads, I think there’s been a  misunder -” Han stopped short as he blinked at Poe. They stared at each other for a moment before Poe sprung up from the floor and yanked Han into a suffocating hug. “Easy there, kid... You’re alright.”

Han looked over the younger pilot’s shoulder and noticed Finn in the corner.

“Where’s Rey?” Is all he asked.

“On  Starkiller , with Ren,” Finn supplied as Poe stayed quiet, though his shoulders shook like he was crying into Han’s jacket. “She wanted to stay there. Poe and I barely escaped together.”

“Was she okay? Was she hurt?”

“She got shot. We don't know what happened after.”

Han swallowed and nodded, patting Poe’s back so he’d get the hint to let go. When he finally did, Poe wiped his eyes and stayed close. Han had so many questions.

“You two stole the spice?”

Poe shook his head. “It was my idea. We need money. Finn didn’t know.”

The pair exchanged a brief look and Han wondered just how much arguing must’ve happened between them. At least neither were injured.

“Well, I need it back.”

“You’re-”

“-Doing this job for the Hutts, so if you two geniuses know what’s good for you, you’ll let me handle this.” 

Poe grabbed Han’s arm. “We need that money, Han. In case you didn’t know, the First Order wants Finn. And I have a death sentence over my head.”

Han shrugged him off. “ _ You _ need to calm down. I didn’t say I was leaving you behind. You’re both coming with me. You think I’d leave you here of all places?” He quickly glanced back to Maz, who’d found a comfortable crate to sit on. “No offence, of course.”

“None taken, this is the most entertaining thing to happen all week.”

Finn stood and brushed off the dust. “Look, Poe and I need somewhere to stay, somewhere out of the First Order’s radar. We... know what happened to Vandor. I’m so sorry, Mr Solo.”

Han blinked and then smiled softly. “Don’t be. We’re fine.”

Poe’s head whipped up. “What?!” 

“We had a warning before it happened. Just long enough for us to get away. Soon as we saw those Destroyers back away, we made our move.” Han reached out to pat Poe’s shoulder. “They’re alive and well.”

Poe was either going to tackle Han again or burst into tears of joy and relief. He cupped his own face and Han gently pulled the pilot into his arms, like he was comforting a child. Five weeks of pent up grief did not disappear in the blink of an eye, but Poe had life in him again. And Finn was grateful that Han seemed to know just how to calm the pilot down so he wasn’t a babbling mess.

“Look, I’ll figure something out with the guys outside and I’ll get you on the Falcon.”

Dislodging Poe from his side again, Han ruffled his hair and gestured for the two to follow him out  Maz’s cellar room. He turned to her. 

“You willing to help out an old friend?”

Maz crossed her arms. “And what do you call this? I wouldn’t describe you as an old friend, more like a bug that won’t go away.”

“You always had a way with words, Maz.”

She rolled her eyes and climbed off the crate, pointing further down the corridor. “There’s a door that leads outside. You boys go there and wait. I’m sure Han will figure this out. With his usual...”

“Splendour?” Han offered with a smirk.

"I was going to say chaos. Splendour applies to your wife, not you, Solo. You have the tactical grace of a drugged-up  bantha with no plan and no back-up.”

The smirk dropped immediately. He turned to  Chewie but the Wookie backed up  Maz’s point.

“Always a pleasure to see you, Maz,” he said with a sarcastic wave as he headed back up the stairs. She was right about him not having a plan but how badly could it go?

Han returned to the impatient guards and smiled with open arms.  “The situation is under control! You’re quite welcome.”

“You recovered the spice?”

“Of course! Now, you boys do what you were hired for and get these crates on my ship. I’ll get it all delivered. We’re running quite late now so best move along.”

They didn’t appreciate being rushed and Han grew wary of their blasters, but at least he knew the destination and they didn’t. Well, original destination. He watched them quietly and wondered how he’d get Finn and Poe on the ship.

As soon as they were done, Han squeezed past them into the hold.

“Alright, lads, thanks for your service.” He turned towards the cockpit but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

One of the guards was glaring at him. “We’re coming with.”

“No, that’s not necessary.”

“We’re here to protect the cargo until it arrives.”

Chewie growled at the guard, startling him. 

Han slapped his hand off. “This is my ship. I decide who boards it. Now, Chewie here might look  cuddly but he is less than friendly, so I suggest you back off-”

A blast struck the side of the Falcon.

“Who the hell is shooting at my ship?” Han yelled. “You lot, make yourselves useful and shoot back.”

He barely waited until the guards had run off the ramp before shutting it, as Chewie ran to the cockpit. As the Falcon turned, Han laughed. 

“Maz, you sly little...”

Chewie growled happily at the guards quickly being picked off by the people who’d been in the bar. He set the ship right by the castle, where Maz had mentioned a door. 

“There they are. You keep the ship steady, I’ll get them.”

The fighting in the distance was brief and by the time Han had his hand on Poe’s shoulder, the guards were dealt with. Finn frowned in their direction. 

“I thought she had rules,” he mumbled.

“She hates Hutts. She won’t want their mercenaries on her turf,” Han explained. “We go  way back, I knew she’d help us. Chewie, get us back to Bala-Tik!”

“But the spice-” Poe protested. 

Han carefully took it out of his inner pocket and held out the narrow tube Poe had stolen from the crates. He opened the nearest one to carefully store it back in its non-descript container.

“Change of plans. This isn’t going to the Hutts. Look, I... am in a lot of financial strain with various people. I’ve managed to pay most of them and this here was going to pay back a debt I made with the Guavian Death Gang.”

“They sound nice,” Finn mused. What kind of mess had he gotten himself into now? 

Han scoffed. “Oh, yeah, utterly wonderful people. Now, I met with their leader and he’s willing to check off my debt to him if I give him this.”

“But the Hutts will know it was you who stole from them,” Poe cut in. “Isn’t that worse?”

“ Bala -Tik is a snake and he’ll do anything to please the First  Order so they don’t kill him or his gang. One call and they’ll know I’m alive, and you know exactly what they’ll see up here if they catch me.” He pointed at his head and watched as Poe winced at his own experience. “I’ve pissed off a lot of people in my time, the Hutts included, but never have I risked the lives of the people I love. I can’t have anyone know where Leia is. Or Luke.”

“Then, I guess we go to this snake,” Poe concluded. 

Han was grateful for the lack of resistance. His day had been too long already. 

“You boys make yourselves comfortable. When we get there,” Han pointed at Finn, “you hide. I saw the bounty. I’m not willing to make  Bala -Tik the richest man around.”

Finn nodded obediently and watched Han wander to the cockpit. He found himself a bench to sit on and exhaled loudly, rubbing his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Poe admitted meekly. “I thought we’d be able to sell it, buy our freedom.”

Finn opened his eyes and looked up at Poe, who stood there awkwardly. 

“Poe, promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t ever,  _ ever _ , keep secrets from me. Not like this. We’re in this together. We can’t have secret plans. We tell each other everything.”

Poe nodded fervently. 

“Shake on it.” Finn held out his hand. “Promise me.”

Poe took his hand. “I promise not to keep things from you. Ever.”

They shook once and Finn relaxed. “Then, you and I are good.”

“Just like that?”

“You forgave me pretty easily. I can do the same.”

Poe smiled briefly and allowed himself to sit close to Finn, but the ex-trooper wasn’t having it. He pinched  Poe’s sleeve and dragged him closer, gently knocking their heads together. 


	11. Chapter 11

** Chapter 11 **

Rey had sat many times in silence besides Ben when they were padawans. She’d often sought him out when Master Luke’s teachings were too much to wrap her head around, or when she simply wanted a counterbalance when she explored the Force.  Without anywhere to go and without anyone to seek out, Rey should’ve felt alone but she didn’t. It wasn’t as if the First Order could stop her and tell her what to do, not unless Lord Ren felt the need to enforce a rule. 

Rey was allowed to wander the halls, simply because nothing could stop her. No mechanism was safe from being crushed or disabled and she could suggest to most troopers she was cleared to walk the hangars. They feared her, though. Rey never liked how some would flinch when she made things float to her reach or simply moved things without looking. They feared Ren because of his abilities and rather than testing hers, they safely assumed she could hurt them too. It made her sick.

But it also granted her freedom.

At least, she looked like she wasn’t interested in daily First Order business. She  _ was _ , incredibly so, but for what purpose? There was no one to broadcast that knowledge to anymore.

And yet, she did not feel completely lost and alone without her family. Perhaps being spared the sight of Vandor’s desolation had contributed to her mourning. It wasn’t a case of ignoring what had happened, but there was nothing to see, to remember, to feel. A mercy, perhaps.

Rey had readied herself to confront Ben for so long, that she’d forgotten exactly when she’d cut attachments to life and death. Especially her own. If she were to die here, Rey was ready. She’d fight as long as she possibly  could but death would come some day and she’d greet it with open arms, rather than reject reality. Rey knew leaving behind her family for this moment meant saying goodbye, likely forever, but she’d never expected it to be so sudden, and without any real farewell to the people she loved. At least, she’d told Poe and Finn.

That was her truth, deep down, but on the surface, in the thoughts that abruptly interrupted her day and sent her into sobbing fits, she cried for the people she’d lost. 

“The pain will pass,”  Kylo has assured her once, when he’d found her balled up on the edge of her bed. 

She didn’t know if crying at random times and being unable to sleep for days on end was normal, or if the loss was making her crazy. But  Kylo ...  Kylo knew pain and loss better than anyone else. She listened to his soft-spoken advice, breathed in time with him, and let him guide her into an unfeeling state of being. Whenever she felt the onslaught of her mind trying to rake up pain, Kylo insisted on taking her to his training room. He handed her the metal bars he used instead of an energy weapon and sat there, watching her smash droids and dummies to pieces. On particularly bad days, he let her use her own  lightsaber . 

There was a technique to some of her moves, when she felt incredibly focused on training. Other times, she was terrifying and hacking at anything in her path. She’d occasionally forget that simulations were fake and ignite her  saber at objects that weren’t  really there , destroying whatever surface was nearby. Rey felt like she was raking up damage bills.

It didn’t matter to  Kylo . He wanted her strong and focused. The droids could be replaced, her mind could not.

She wiped the sweat from her face as she turned the battle simulation off, and clipped her  saber to her belt. Jerking her thumb towards the high-powered projectors, she said, “I wish we had those growing up.”

Kylo scoffed from his spot on the mats. “You’d be ridiculously... overpowered by now. I’m glad you didn’t. I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

She raised a brow and pulled at her hair ties. Like Kylo, she’d tied her hair back from her face but at least she had a skill for it. She yanked the ties free and ran her fingers through her damp strands.

“You don’t think I can take you on?”

“I know... you can’t,” he strained to say as he balanced himself on his hands and gracefully landed back down to his feet. His arms were shaking from the effort as he pulled his shirt back in place. 

“Confidence will be your downfall,” she taunted as she re-tied her hair and picked one of the bars. 

“No, not with those.”  Kylo held out his hand and his  saber flew from the benches into his palm. “I want to see how you duel.”

“Alright.” 

She dropped the bar and grabbed her own weapon, and moved to the mats.  Kylo had the advantage of height and strength but Rey was fast, and she quickly pulled a stance and readied herself to dodge whatever Kylo threw at her.

“No Force use,” he stated as he rolled his shoulders and ignited his saber. “Just skill.”

Rey stared at the blade worryingly. It shouldn’t be so... aggressive. Instead of a delicate beam of light, it sparked like a current of red electricity ran along the sides of the blade. The vents acted as a cross-guard of sorts, keeping the unstable Kyber crystal from overloading. And its red light sent shivers down her spine.

“I can sense your fear.”

“What’s wrong with the crystal?” Rey had made several lightsabers and none of hers had ever appeared like that.

“Nothing to concern yourself with.”

She thought differently but kept her mouth shut. There was something in  Kylo’s eyes warning her not to push. Her blade ignited blue and she readied herself again.

Rey expected  Kylo to make the first move and he did, taking a large step forward and swinging straight for her. She blocked and stepped back, surprised that he’d lunge so strongly to begin with. But she quickly learned that duelling  Kylo was far worse than duelling Ben. Each arch and jab  was carried with full strength and there was a method to it, not just pure aggression. He was wearing her out on purpose, making her defend herself until her arms ached.

She ignited her second blade as he crashed down on the first one and shoved it towards him, finally breaking in an opening so she could attack.  Kylo stumbled back to avoid being slashed across his stomach and smirked at her. She had gotten better. Rey spun the blades around her like a shield, making it difficult for  Kylo to block. It wasn’t long before he was on the edge of the mat.

Rey would’ve used the Force by this point and  Kylo as well, but they’d agreed not to. They were matched as long as Rey paid attention and didn’t tire out. Suddenly,  Kylo looked away and willingly stepped off the mat and turned the  saber off. 

“What are you doing?”

Her question was quickly answered as the door to  Kylo’s training hall opened and one of his Knights walked in. She recognised him from  Kylo’s past and she stared at his grid-like metal mask as he came closer.

“You asked to be updated on  Ushar’s condition. He’s finally able to talk,”  Vicrul informed. 

Kylo stiffened and glanced to Rey. “I’m sorry but I have to cut this short. I’ll see you later.”

He barely thanked  Vicrul as he passed him, and Rey was left with her  saber still ignited and her blood pumping from the fight. She realised she was being stared at.

“Your  saber is not red,”  Vicrul stated, like he was offended by the blue glow. Rey turned it off. 

“I don’t want it to be,” she answered simply, but her tone was guarded.

“Supreme Leader Snoke will not tolerate insolence. His punishments are not to be taken lightly.”

Rey’s expression switched from passive to enraged. She closed the gap between them and glared up to the small slit visor. 

“If Snoke has a problem with me, he can tell me himself. I won’t be threatened by a faceless creature.” 

Vicrul tilted his head slightly. Rey struggled to sense his echo through the Force, as if he was protected from her prodding. 

“The Supreme Leader will not be intimidated by a girl like you. Perhaps the Jedi were loose with their order but here, you will learn hierarchy.”

“You are not better than me. The Sith have no morals or compassion.”

“The Jedi filled your head with lies. I suggest you stop clinging to them. They won’t bring you strength or comfort here. You are here to learn our ways and that begins with discipline and obedience.”

Rey scoffed and lightened her glare, but her eyes were still full of venom. “I won’t be made into a lap dog.”

Vicrul straightened his head like he was done playing games. 

“You will learn,” he said firmly before turning on his heel. Rey watched him go and deflated when she was alone in the hall. Ben had trusted that man? If he was a man at all. She didn’t want to know what was hidden beneath all those overlapping robes or behind the helmet.

She sat on the mat and sighed, rubbing her sore hands. Kylo had not mentioned anything else on Snoke beyond their shaky plan. Her only knowledge of the elusive Sith came from rumours and whispers in the Outer Rim but she knew he was to be feared, and if Kylo worried about him, she should too. The only way they could defeat Snoke was together and for that, she had to be stronger. She needed guidance.

The training hall was not private enough for her to feel comfortable meditating unguarded. She went to her room, close to  Kylo’s , and sat on her bed with her back to the wall. With the layout of the base, the safest area was somewhere in the middle. Ground and aerial attacks would be the quickest end. Deep down below the rocks and there wouldn’t be enough time to escape before a cave-in. It meant her room did not have sunlight or fresh air. A screen offered her a live view of the snowy forest beyond the base but she couldn’t bear staring at the resemblance to Vandor, so she switched back to Tatooine. 

Raising the temperature of the room, Rey slowly felt her heartbeat calm as warm air flooded in from the vents. It was as close as she could get to being on her birth planet. 

She closed her eyes and reached for that comforting presence to reassure her. No words had ever been spoken from the figure just out of sight, no matter how many questions she’d asked over the years. Maybe it couldn’t speak. Or it didn’t want to. Rey had never felt judged by it, only strengthened by the silent force. But for once, she’d like it if she could know if she was on the right path. Of course, she received no answer.

* * *

Supreme Leader Snoke was growing impatient, more so than usual, and Ren felt the  Sith’s aggravation in the back of his mind like a constant headache. He wanted these precious Jedi as his own.  Kylo wasn’t enough for him. Snoke wanted an army of  Sith at any cost, often pushing the chosen ones beyond their limits. Ren had been smart enough to survive the intense training but he could not anticipate whether Rey would adapt to Snoke’s inhumane methods.

Ren needed to protect her. He was under no illusion that Snoke wanted to control her. Whoever Ren trained would end up in Snoke’s hands eventually. The traitor was the only way of distracting Snoke from Rey.

He could sense the General’s bad temper from a mile away but that didn’t stop Ren from seeking him out in the privacy of his quarters. It was late. Far too late to even consider this visit as remotely polite but he didn’t care. He knocked and waited for the door to the General’s office to open.  It was strange to see Hux without his greatcoat, let alone with his shirt partly unbuttoned and his hair washed free of any products. Hux frowned immediately upon seeing him and Ren couldn’t tell if it was because he’d caught him in his downtime or because he simply existed in the proximity of the General. 

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Hux complained, though he didn’t appear as if he was heading to bed anytime soon. There were screens lit all over his glass desk, some loaded with dozens of reports for him to read and sign before he could sleep.

“Late, I imagine.”

Hux exhaled loudly and put down the tablet pen he’d been using. He gestured for Ren to take one of the two chairs in front of the desk. The second one was occupied by the General’s feline companion dozing in a ball. The chairs weren’t comfortable and they weren’t supposed to be, but the Loth-cat did not care. Ren reached up and took off his helmet.

“If you’re about to ask me if we’ve deciphered that data drive, you won’t like my answer. Whatever you retrieved from Vandor could not possibly have been what we were searching for.” Hux opened one of the drawers and pulled out the drive to throw it on the desk. “I’ve half a mind to toss it down the cannon. It’s useless old information from the Empire archives, nothing more. Nothing that could have possibly aided the Resistance.”

Ren reached to take the drive. Luke had been so adamant about protecting it. Perhaps it had all been a ruse. He chose to change the subject quickly.

“ Ushar is  conscious again.  Kuruk is taking him back to Snoke. She’ll stay there for some time, I imagine.”

“Good, less Knights on my ship. I don’t trust them to behave while I’m down here. I imagine it won’t be long before Snoke gives us the greenlight to move on Coruscant permanently.”

That had not been the reason Ren had come to him. They both knew the injured Knight would face punishment for failing to capture the trooper on Jakku. Ren looked pained. Hux willingly took the bait.

“I’m sure you didn’t come here just to tell me something I could’ve heard in the morning. What do you want, Ren?”

“Have you found FN-2187 yet?”

Hux’s brows raised and he barked a laugh. “Do you seriously think I’d withhold that information from you? No, no one has found him. Or the Resistance pilot. I’ve increased the bounty. It’s at a million credits now. Someone will take interest and inform us, don’t worry.”

“I do worry. The longer he’s out there-”

Hux stopped him by lifting his hand. “He is untrained and thanks to  Starkiller , he will remain untrained without Skywalker’s interference. I have expanded my forces across the galaxy, he’ll be in our hands soon.”

Ren averted his gaze briefly. Hux thought nothing of it.

“Think as he would,” Hux continued, “You’re alone with no one to help, your face in every port and on every planet. You wouldn’t dare go towards civilisation. I am checking every backwater planet, even as far as Batuu. No one can stay hidden forever.”

“Snoke is impatient.”

“Did he send you?”

Ren shook his head. “No, I wanted to know but he will ask soon. I can feel it.”

“Perhaps if he would lend his efforts, we’d have FN-2187 sooner.”  Treasonous words for certain. Ren was surprised to hear him voice them aloud. Perhaps he was feeling emboldened by the recent victory. “Can you not simply... sense the trooper’s location?”

“That’s not how the Force works. I can tell if he’s alive as long as he does not block me, but not where he is.”

Hux shrugged. “I don’t know how any of this nonsense works. Trust in my methods, we’ll have him soon. You’re welcome to relay that to the Supreme Leader and ease his mind.”

Ren nodded and grabbed his helmet, readying to leave. He held out the data drive questioningly but Hux shook his head. Ren could do with it as he pleased. It was useless. Hux leaned back in his high-back chair and linked his hands loosely. 

“This girl you have roaming around, should I be concerned? You have given her great freedom while I’ve been busy with our invasion. More than I’ve seen from any of your other interests.”

“Snoke wants her.”

“He seems to want everyone. I’ll ask again, must I be concerned about her? Is she a threat to the Order?”

“Rey is on my side. She’ll do as I ask. She is no danger to either of us.”

Hux noted the way he said  _ us _ and fixed Ren with a questioning gaze. There was no doubt he was up to something.

“Whatever it is you are planning, Kylo, I do hope you know what you are doing. I consider us allies.” Hux did not push further. Ren was being vague but there was a firmness to his words, something that gave Hux hope that the Sith was not completely useless. 

“Goodnight, General.” The helmet returned over his face and Ren left Hux to mull over their conversation.

As much as they disagreed and argued, Hux was useful and so was his army. Ren would need to keep him on his side if Snoke was to suddenly depart from life.

* * *

Ren didn’t sleep as often as most people, and certainly not when it was advised. He had yet to rest at all when the dawn came up over  Starkiller base. He felt the quietness of the night shift end as it was replaced by the first morning shift. The ones who started up the kitchens and most of the engines to power the base, those who liked to train before work and those returning from missions to decompress and turn in their reports. It was never silent or abandoned at night but the day brought about a more vibrant energy, and Kylo found it harder to block out all the noise and movement. 

Sleep was either unattainable, or incredibly hard to reach. He couldn’t switch off his mind and pass out, so he resorted to meditating to try and at least rest his body. It wasn’t a cure to his insomnia but it helped. He sat on the floor in his almost-barren quarters and tried to let his mind separate from his body. He hadn’t had many chances to do so alone since Rey had come back into his life. She needed influencing, proof that the Dark Side was not as frightening or corruptible as the Jedi lied it was. It took his attention away from his own progress.

It was nice to be alone, though. Just him and his connection to the Force, letting himself seep into a quiet state of being that so rarely came.

The cutting pain of Snoke probing  Kylo’s mind was like a white-hot dagger which sliced through his head all of a sudden, and he winced at the unwanted presence weighing in his mind. His grasp on the Force weakened considerably and before he could mourn the briefest connection to Lord Vader, Snoke interrupted his session.

“Neither of the Jedi have been brought to me,” Snoke growled in his head, “You are testing my patience, boy.”

“The girl needs time. She is still fragile,”  Kylo tried to explain. “And the trooper is being hunted down.”

“Bring her to me. She will not be fragile for long.”

“I can do this, Master. Let me prove myself to you. I have her under my control.”

The laugh in his head was cruel and harsh, and  Kylo screwed his eyes shut against it. 

“You have control over nothing. Your weakness for her is obvious, boy. You had weeks to change her mind, to use her affection to lure her to the Dark Side. Instead, you treat her as a guest, a friend. The girl could be the turning point in our war against the Jedi and you waste  _ my _ _ time _ .”

“Please, Master, give me just a bit longer. I will do as you command.”

“I will grant you one more week. If she is not yours by then, your punishment may be... fatal.”

“Yes, Master. I understand.”

Snoke retreated from his mind just as painfully as he had arrived, and  Kylo slumped forward, barely catching himself on his palms. He brought his forehead to the cool ground and yelled out. 

As if possessed by rage, he stood and grabbed his  lightsaber and swung the blade at the nearest wall. The heat left a deep gash but it wasn’t enough. It felt good but  Kylo wanted to keep slashing at things until he felt numb. At some point, the alarm went off from all the smoke and damaged machinery. The walls were scored with bright orange lines like some monster had tried to claw a way out and failed. 

He wasn’t paying attention to anything around him. The room was entirely destroyed and yet, he needed more. The training hall was too far. The destruction was cathartic. He was wearing out his exhausted body even more and the rush of blood was exhilarating. It cut off most of his thoughts. It numbed the lingering pain left by Snoke’s interference. 

“Stop acting like a child.” 

Kylo whirled round and stopped his  saber an inch away from the General’s face. Hux flinched but kept his ground in the doorway, his back to the empty hall.

“I can’t keep replacing everything you decide to break,” he continued as the sheer heat was beginning to bother him. He didn’t need singed hair again. “Damage anything else and I’ll dock your pay.” 

Kylo turned the saber off and took a step back into the shadows. He was all too aware of his bare face and the angered tears that had dried but left his eyes red and gold. 

“I was under the impression you were fine. At least, you were last night. What changed?”

“None of your concern, General. Leave me alone.”

Hux observed the various sparking apparatus and the wrecked walls. “You’re shredding my base apart. That concerns me.”

“I said, leave!”

Kylo threw his hand out and crushed the General’s windpipe, throwing him out of his quarters. Hux’s back smacked hard into the corridor wall and grasped at his throat for air. 

“Kylo!”

He turned to look as Rey ran towards them but instead of coming to him, she knelt down by the General’s side.

“Let him go! Right now,” she snarled, and Kylo snapped out of the fog-like rage he’d been in and did as she ordered. The General coughed and gasped, too busy trying to breathe to shake off Rey’s weak attempts at aiding him. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I-”  Kylo had no answer, so he turned  it back on her. “What are you doing helping someone like him?”

Rey’s glare was chilling, as was the General’s.

“It doesn’t matter who he is! I won’t let you kill anyone again, Ben. Ever! This stops right now. I thought you were better than this! That you would change for the better, but this-”

Kylo glanced between them and saw the hatred in their eyes. In one fell swoop, he’d ruined what shaky peace was  there. He took a step aside, and then another, and briskly walked away so they couldn’t look at him like that. 

“-Ben! Get back here!”

Rey turned to the General and winced at the dark bruises already forming on his throat. She didn’t know what to do as he regained his breath and slumped back against the wall. There was a splatter of wet blood trailing down to his head. 

“I think you need to go to the  medbay , General. Can you get there yourself? I need to find him.”

He scoffed weakly. “This isn’t the first time... Don’t bother, he’s pathetic.”

“I have to try and talk to him.”

“You’re wasting your time.”

“Maybe so, but I have to try. Here-” She stood and took his arm, pulling him up to his feet. 

“Thank you,” Hux said tentatively, as if he wasn’t used to saying it. When he moved some steps away, Rey frowned at his blood-soaked ginger hair. “I’ll be fine.”

Rey severely doubted that but she didn’t stop him from disappearing into a turbo-lift nearby, hopefully headed to the medbay. She worried at the thought that it had happened before. Sparks flew from the open doorway of Kylo’s room and she peeked inside, gasping at the damage.

The only untouched objects in the room were a pedestal upon which Lord Vader’s charred helmet sat and a familiar date drive she’d last seen in General Organa’s possession.

* * *

Snoke had almost always taught from pain. He pushed limits and instilled strength from pain. If the apprentice failed, they were not ready to become a  Sith Lord.  Kylo had survived many trials and punishments and lived. He didn’t need Snoke to punish him this time. The failure was all his and  Kylo had to pay.

A blaster bolt hovered at the side of his head. If he lost concentration, it would pierce through his skull and paint the pristine snow red. His right arm was burned from a shot he’d not focused on years ago. 

He didn’t know how long he would make himself sit in the near-freezing temperatures in his sweat-soaked shirt. His trousers had already seeped with snow and his hands had lost almost all feeling at the fingertips. Snoke would approve of such punishment.  Kylo deserved it. And this was nothing compared to what he would experience now that he had completely and utterly failed both of his missions. He would be doing himself a favour if he shot himself right now.

He sensed Rey nearby and held his  lightsaber tightly in his hands. She was hesitating to disturb him, all too aware of the fatal bolt.  Kylo inclined his head forward and dropped his hold on the bolt, letting it finally whiz past and blast into a tree. He couldn’t even punish himself successfully.

“You’ll die out here if you stay like that,” Rey warned gently as she came closer and pulled off her grey coat to drape it over his shoulders.

Kylo contemplated shrugging it off but the lingering warmth was too good and he yanked the fabric closer over his arms, abandoning his  lightsaber . 

“I saw your room. What happened?” Kylo stayed quiet. “The General was hurt badly. He was bleeding. Be-  _ Kylo _ , you can’t-”

“I’m sorry.” It was whispered so gently Rey hardly heard him. “I lost control. I didn’t mean to. Snoke is closing in on me. He wants you now. I can’t let him have you.”

Rey knelt down beside him and took one of his frozen hands. “Maybe it’s time I meet him, then.”

“No!” She flinched at his tight grip but he refused to let go. “He can have anyone he wants but not you. Please, Rey. I can handle whatever punishment he throws at me, but you-” He reached out and stroked her cheek. “He cannot have you.”

Rey pulled her face away. “That’s not your decision to make, Kylo. My home, my family, my Ben- they were taken away from me before I could say goodbye. Snoke is behind all of it. He points you in a direction and tells you to kill, and you do it. I don’t- I don’t even recognise you anymore. If I hadn’t stopped you, you would’ve killed that man. Tell me I’m wrong.”

He could not. Kylo had not felt like himself for some time.

“Snoke will hurt you, Rey.”

“Possibly, but I will kill him. Even if it’s the last thing I do. I don’t know what game you’re playing, if you have any sort of plan at all, but we have to kill him,  Kylo . There’s no other way. We have to destroy the  Sith , together.”

“No.”

“What?”

Kylo stared at her through his tangled hair. “I am the  Sith . I won’t let you destroy me.”

“Then, I...”

“You’re either with me or against me, Rey.”

“I’m with you but we  kill Snoke together.”


	12. Chapter 12

** Chapter 12 **

As the Falcon arrived, Han pulled open one of the floor hatches and unceremoniously shoved Finn into the cramped compartment with a blaster and a sarcastic wave. It was safer that way but Finn hated it.  Han looked to Poe one last time before he opened up the ramp and greeted the Death Gang. More of them had been called in as reinforcements. Dozens, in fact. All armed to the teeth and hateful of the con-man. 

The meeting was held in an old space port, disused by travellers but repurposed for not-exactly legal transactions such as this one. All sorts of  modded ships were parked in the hangar, some making the Falcon look simplistic in comparison. 

“You actually came,”  Bala -Tik spoke out from the crowd as he came closer to inspect the Falcon. 

Han threw his hands up in a friendly manner and smiled. “I promised, didn’t I? It’s all there, help yourselves.”

The gang leader inclined his head and the ones closest to the ship began heading up the ramp. He glanced away from the Falcon towards Poe and frowned.

“The First Order wants you dead,” he stated.

Poe shrugged. “They want everyone dead, especially people who break out of their cells.”

Bala -Tik looked impressed. “An escaped prisoner then? Not many can brag about that. But just what is such a hero doing with this decrepit bastard of a man?”

“I’m standing right here.” Han was entirely ignored.

“Security job before I scram,” Poe replied off the top of his head. Chewie growled a confirmation from behind him.

“You won’t be paid for it, friend. Han isn’t good with keeping his promises. If it’s money you want, we’re always looking for good shots.”

Poe shook his head. “No, I’m good but I appreciate the offer. I need to disappear, not make myself known.”

“Suit yourself.”

The crates had been unloaded from the Falcon and  Bala -Tik counted the spice containers, a grin spreading across his face. He turned back to Han.

“You didn’t even steal any for yourself. I’m shocked.”

“I wouldn’t even know what to do with it,” Han answered. “Are we settled now? Is my debt paid?”

“It is.” Han breathed a sigh of relief. “You and I will never cross paths again. If we do, I’ll kill you.”

Bala -Tik closed the crates and gestured for them to be carried away.

“You sure you can handle all that?” Han asked. “The Hutts will know.”

“They’ll know the untrustworthy Han Solo broke yet another contract and they’ll send someone out to deal with you.” The leader stopped in his tracks to smack Han’s shoulder. 

“You son of a bitch...”

“It’s just business, Han, don’t take it so personally. You scam me, I put you in your place. That’s how the world works. Just be grateful I said nothing to the First Order. But I can and I will if you annoy me any longer. So get back on your ship and leave. Or I’ll save the Order a bolt.”

Bala -Tik turned away but his men stayed planted where they were. Han nodded for Poe to follow him back onto the Falcon. He sat down and started up the engines with Chewie’s help and stayed oddly quiet as Poe went to fetch Finn.

“Are we going to General Organa now?” Poe asked once they were out of the space port and in the open, surrounded by stars.

“Yes.”

Poe grinned and glanced over to Finn, matching his excitement. 

* * *

BB-8 had been tasked with simple relaying duties between the high-ranking members of the Resistance. A glorified mail droid at best but without Poe around and with enough  Astromec s to help the remaining pilots, there wasn’t much to do.  The round droid was carrying data from one end of the base to the other when the Falcon landed outside in the distance. BB-8 stopped in its tracks out of curiosity and it was glad it did. Abandoning its boring mission, the droid whizzed past rebels and ships towards the freighter and beeped in a high-pitch, almost akin to an excitable scream.

Poe stopped what he was doing and dropped to his knees as the droid rolled up to him.

“Buddy! You’re alright!” He hugged the droid tightly and rested his cheek against the top of its head, cuddling it lovingly. “I’m so sorry you got left behind.”

BB-8 rapidly forgave him and told him everything that had happened since  Tynna , all so fast that Poe barely kept up. When the droid was done, Poe hugged it again. Finn squatted at his side and patted BB-8. He’d never been so glad to see the orange droid.

“I need you to take me to Leia,” Poe told BB-8 as he stood and brushed off the dust. The droid headed towards the base and he followed, taking Finn’s hand along the way.

General Organa had a certain image to maintain, of stoicism and strength, but she broke her own rules and held Poe close to her. 

“I thought I’d lost you all. I saw what happened to Vandor,” Poe mumbled sometime later over a third mug of caf, when he’d calmed down and body-slammed anyone in his vicinity until they were sick of his crushing embrace.

“We were lucky,” Leia admitted. “When Ben was here, he warned us about the First Order.”

Poe bit back his surprise. “I’ve been to  Starkiller . It’s unbeatable but we have to try. They have Rey.”

“We feared as much. The last five weeks have been busy. I have scouts near Ilum, where the base is built, but it’s not much to go on.”

“Finn and I were inside. We can tell you what we saw. We have to get Rey at any cost.”

Leia gently took the pilot’s hand. “We’ll do everything we can. You should get some rest but would you mind sending Finn in here, please?”

“Of course.” Poe stood and paused. “I really thought I’d lost you, Leia.”

“Not in a million years, Poe. Go sleep, you have your own room, I made sure of it.”

After a moment of hesitation, during which Poe did not want to take his eyes off her in case he was dreaming, he left and gestured to Finn that it was his turn. 

“Meet me in my room when you’re done. I don’t want to sleep alone,” he added softly. 

Finn headed inside the meeting room and bowed his head politely towards Leia. “General.”

“It’s good to see you again, Finn.” She went to the  caf maker in the corner. “Would you like some?”

“No, thanks, I’ll end up staying awake all night.”

“This won’t take long. I wanted to thank you for what you did for Poe, and Rey.” She brewed her drink and sat back down with a sigh. “You did not have to risk your life for them but you did, and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Finn took a seat beside her. “I did what felt right.”

“You’re already one of us, Finn, but it makes me happy to see that fighting  spirit in you as well. I’ll need your help in rescuing Rey.”

“She wanted to be there.” Leia looked up but there was no surprise on her face.  It puzzled Finn. “But... you already knew that, didn’t you?”

She smiled tightly. “Rey was not born among the Rebel Alliance. She was brought to us as a child, barely four or five years old. Luke taught her to use the Force but there’s only so far an orphan can grow attached to a stranger. Luke tried his best but Rey never could connect well with other people, not until I brought my son along. He was nine at the time. It was only to keep him out of trouble but they quickly became friends.” Leia’s smile turned lovelier, more fond. “I remember Ben hated her at first, always following him around, but it stopped after some time and they were inseparable. It became impossible to take him away from her for long.

“When Ben ran away,  it broke Rey’s heart. She thought it was all her fault. Snoke had taken my son from me, from all of us, and we were too late to stop it. Rey has never once forgotten about Ben. It does not shock me to learn she found him again and plans to stay. No matter the cost to her life.”

Leia gently held Finn’s hand. 

“It will not be easy to part them, and even more difficult to save Ben from the life he’s tormented by.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because my children mean the world to me. I know most would not hesitate to kill Ben if given the opportunity but I beg you to try and help him. Rey is not the only priority, as Poe might believe. I don’t want to bury my son, Finn.”

Finn swallowed and averted his gaze. “Your son is  Kylo Ren, the Jedi Killer. You think I’d help him? I’ve seen what he’s done. People are afraid of him for good reason.”

“I am not blind to his crimes, Finn. I could list them all off for you if you’d so wish. I only ask that you extend mercy to him, for my sake. He will answer for his past.”

“Heading back there is too risky... Snoke wants me to join him. That’s why the bounty’s on my head. If I go back, I’ll- I don’t want to turn into Ren. I don’t want to be tortured.”

Leia sighed gently. She understood. “It’s your decision to make. If you wish to run, I’ll allow you to take a ship and leave, but don’t expect anyone to follow you out of the door. Not even Poe. I see how he looks at you but his whole life is dedicated to the Resistance. Everyone here is doing what needs to be done to save the galaxy from falling into darkness.”

“The First Order has already won.”

She scoffed. “The Empire won too. They all fall in the end. The only thing that matters is whether you stood by and watched, or if you were on the front lines risking it all. I know where I stand and I don’t judge you for where you do. I ask that if you fight, you fight for mercy and for peace.”

“I... can’t give you an answer right this second, General. I need to think about it. My life never had any value until recently, I don’t know if I want to lose it so soon.”

“I understand. But I believe all lives have value. Only you can choose your path. Let me know your decision soon, in case I need to filter you in to our plans.”

“I appreciate it.”

When Finn found Poe’s room, all the lights were out and the pilot was deeply asleep despite what he’d said. The stress had finally shut him down. Finn couldn’t blame him at all. For a moment, he hovered in the room and wondered whether he should find his own bed.  D’Qar’s base was bigger than the last, made for a larger alliance, and there would be plenty of places to claim as his own. 

Finn just didn’t want to go and find them. The bed and the walls were foreign but Poe was not. Sharing that ridiculous little house on  Batuu had cut away any insecurities about personal space. Poe was probably the only person Finn could firmly claim was a friend, and certainly one who’d risk his life for Finn’s. He’d never had someone like that before.

Finn could not picture himself leaving Poe behind. Whatever plan was scheming among the Resistance members would involve the skilled pilot and Finn knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he cut off all contact and left Poe alone. Familiarity had nothing to do with it.

He laid down on the bed and turned his back to Poe but the sleep-addled pilot preferred to have him closer. Pressed against the warmth of Poe’s chest, one of the pilot’s arms wrapped around him and was unlikely to let go, Finn made his decision.

* * *

Utter chaos had erupted in General Organa’s meeting room. It was a struggle to speak over anybody and Leia sighed as her best strategists and fighters argued back and forth over the risk of assaulting  Starkiller base. 

“The blockade is too strong, we’ll never get through!” Admiral Ackbar spoke over the rising voices.

“It’s not worth it for one person, we could lose everything!” Another person smacked their  fist on the table, inadvertently flickering the scaled hologram model of the base in question. 

Finn was shocked to see how much information they’d gathered. Troop placements, patrol times, a deep catalogue of the First Order’s available arsenal- and even a crude map of the interior. It was mostly guesswork without the real blueprints but those were unattainable. He sat towards the back, away from the lively discussion. He’d already contributed what he knew. Now, it was a case of judging whether the risk was worth it. Just because Leia thought it was, didn’t mean she could command every fighter to follow her lead. It was a vote.

Poe was right at the table yelling just as loud as everyone else, if not louder. 

“If we can get past the defences and disable the shields like Finn said, we have a chance. We just need to buy some time and get Rey off this damn planet, and then we can blow it to pieces,” he countered, pointing things out on the hologram. 

“And how can we possibly do that? The weapon goes straight down to the core of the planet! We’d need a Death Star to kill it.”

Han changed the hologram. Beside  Starkiller were two small orbs. The sight made the elder rebels shudder.

“Fortunately for us back then,” he solemnly corrected, “the Death Stars weren’t nearly as big. And look, intel showed us  four oscillators on the surface alone. I don’t think our cannons are going to do much good against it.”

“If the shields are down, we can blow them to pieces,” Poe retaliated.

“We don’t have enough ships to target all of them at once.”

The younger pilot raised his arms in the air. “Then we focus on one and we destroy it completely. We don’t have to kill the thing in one go but maybe we can delay them. Those vents are there for a reason, maybe it can’t fire without them!”

“That’s a lot of maybes, kid.”

Finn tuned Han and Poe and the others out. All he needed to know was where to be and what to do once it was all decided. Finn chose to walk out on the meeting. The halls were becoming stifling and he needed fresh air.

He’d been assured that  D’Qar was not on any modern map. A forgotten little planet with no intelligent species or supplies worth mining. That didn’t stop Finn from looking up at the sky and fearing to see First Order ships descending out of orbit. 

Even if the Resistance felt brave enough to leave half their fleet outside with no cover, Finn did not feel safe and he wandered towards the grassy hills in search of a quiet place to sit, preferably beneath a tree. It took some time but he had nothing better to do. The others would be arguing until sundown and if they chose to fight, it would be a while before the fleet left.

He found the perfect little space on a hill, dotted with thin but leafy yellow-trunk trees, and sat down to look over the base and the foggy hills surrounding it. It was warm and peaceful, and Finn closed his eyes to relax completely. He hadn’t had a chance to since Vandor. As soon as he slipped into relaxation, he felt a warmth enveloping him, like a gust of hot air all around him. Rey had told him not to fight it when she’d given him a quick lesson on the Force. It wasn’t a threat. The Force just  existed and Finn happened to notice it now that it was peaceful.

Letting the Force do its thing was easy. What Finn was curious about was why it seemed like it was trying to beckon him, like someone he couldn’t see was holding their hand out for him to take. Finn reached out and took it.

“Finn...” It was Rey’s voice in his  head and he flinched. “I’ve been trying to reach you for some time.”

Finn calmed down. She wasn’t beside him. Rey wasn’t there physically. 

“It’s been an interesting month,” he replied carefully, unsure whether she could hear him.

“Yes, it has.”

“Are you alright?”

She didn’t reply immediately. “I suppose. A mixture of yes and no. Where are you?”

Finn hesitated. The base was a secret. “Somewhere in the Outer Rim, I think. I’m safe. Rey-”

Something grabbed his shoulder and yanked Finn out of the depths of his mind and back to the real world. He searched for the cause and stared up at Skywalker.

“Why did you do that?! I was talking to-”

“That’s not Rey,” Luke said gravelly. He sat down stiffly beside Finn with a groan. “I fell for it already.”

“What do you mean that’s not her? It’s her voice, she was talking to me!”

“It’s Snoke. He’s been broadcasting her voice for days now across the Force, like bait. I thought it was her too, until  _ she _ kept asking to know where I was. And where you were.” Luke sighed and pulled his hood back. 

“Snoke knows you’re alive, then.”

Luke waved his metal hand. “He already knew. If I died, he’d sense it.”

“Rey thinks you’re dead. All of you. She thinks she’s all alone out there now.” Finn glanced back towards the base. “The General’s asked me to save her and Lord Ren. I don’t know if I can.”

“You won’t be alone. Han insisted on coming with me to find Ben.” He gave Finn a quick look. “Leia told you who  Kylo is.”

“Yeah, her kid.  _ Somehow _ .”

“The Dark Side manipulates people, Finn. It turns good, honest people into monsters. And having someone like Snoke training Ben, it only makes things worse. He wasn’t always like that. I loved that boy like he was my own, but I guess now I just love the memory of him. Leia is right to ask you to spare him. It won’t undo the damage he’s done but there is still hope for him.” Luke patted Finn’s shoulder. “Like I said, you won’t be alone.”

“If this even happens. I heard them in there. Not everyone wants to fight.”

“No, they do, but right now, the First Order thinks we’re all dead. That’s quite an advantage. Sadly, at some point, we must make ourselves known again.”

“Even if we all die for real this time?”

Luke smiled tightly. “That’s the price of war.”

“I never asked to be a part of this. Any of it. The second I could walk, I learned to fight. I just want it all to be over. I’m doing this for Rey, not for the Resistance or the war.”

“I was thrown into this mess when I was barely an adult," Luke began. "Just some nobody kid from a tiny sand planet in the middle of nowhere. I’ve lived my life trying to do the right thing. It hasn’t always worked and the mistakes I’ve made will stay with me forever. But people like us, Force sensitives, we have choices that no one can make but ourselves. Ben made his. You’ll make your own.”

“You’re talking about the Dark Side, aren’t you?”

“It’s tempting. Always has been, always will be. I taught Rey never to touch it, and I’ll tell you the same thing. Whether you listen is up to you. Snoke will do his worst to get you on his side, it won't matter if you’re willing or not. I’m telling you this because there is a very real chance you may not escape this mission, and you have to be prepared for that reality.”

Finn wrapped his arms around his knees. He’d never wanted any of this.

“You have to fight him, Finn. For as long as you can. He cannot have another Sith to control.” Luke didn’t voice everything he meant but Finn understood him completely. If he was captured and turned, it was over.  “Don’t reach out to Rey again. The real her won’t hear you.”

“I won’t.”

Luke patted his shoulder again and stood up. Finn watched him walk back down the hill towards the base. He’d made his choice already but Finn began to think that it wouldn’t mean much in the end, not unless he was successful. He had to be. Or his life was forfeit.

* * *

A decision was made at last. The Resistance would launch an assault on  Starkiller from the air as long as the shields could be lowered from within the base. A team would be sent down to the planet to infiltrate and rescue Rey, and then the fighters would lay siege on one of the oscillators. A simple plan if it all worked. It wasn’t a sign of trust or loyalty in the plan or Leia’s leadership. No, nothing as pure-hearted and noble as that. Fear fuelled them because Starkiller was powering up again.

One of the few remaining suns  Ilum orbited was being consumed and cannibalised for energy, funnelled directly into the Kyber heart of the planet. The glowing tendril which connected  Ilum to the gas giant could be seen as far as  Jakku , like a golden thread holding the two together. As beautiful as the sight and how  ingenuitive the technology  were , the First Order was preparing to decimate. It could be from the moment the sun was drained completely, to a year from now. 

Starkiller was primed to attack again.

Finn sat in the hangar watching the pilots scramble to their ships. He focused on a  particular one as BB-8 was pulled up into the black and orange X-Wing and Poe checked and re-checked all his systems. There was still some time before they launched but Poe was leading the fighters and he was exceptionally concentrated on his task. Finn was happy to watch him. It meant he wasn’t thinking about what lay ahead. Part of him still believed he should’ve run away on  Tynna and never looked back, but he was here now and he couldn’t abandon his friends. 

When Poe was done, he noticed Finn and came right over with a grin. Of course he was happy. Poe lived to be in the air. He dropped himself down beside Finn and bumped their shoulders.

“You  gonna be alright down there?” He asked.

“I have to be, don’t I? Will you be alright?”

Poe chuckled and nodded. “Of course, you’ve seen me fly. I’ll be just fine, and I’ve got a whole team of people looking after me. You get those shields down and I’ll make Hux regret the day he was born. We’ll destroy this stupid weapon and then they won’t have control over the  galaxy anymore.”

“I don’t think it’s quite that simple.”

Poe shrugged. “Oh well. Don’t you want to see them burn?”

“I guess.” Finn slumped forward with his hands between his knees. “I just want to make it out of this alive. And not fall into Snoke’s hands.”

“You will make it. We all will.” Poe looked down and linked their hands together. “And then you can show me more of those cool Jedi tricks.”

“Don’t you have Rey for that?”

“You’re more fun.” One of the pilots called Poe’s name. “I should get the last bit ready.” 

He stood with Finn and held him in a long embrace, his face buried in the ex-trooper’s collar. That brown jacket belonged to Finn at this point and Poe was more than okay with that. He stayed there for a moment longer, and Finn wished he didn’t have to let go. When they parted, they stared at each other.

“I’ll see you soon, Finn.”

“Take care of yourself, Poe.”

Poe stayed there for a couple seconds until the other pilot called his name again, and he stepped away. Before his attention was taken completely again, he looked back at Finn and waved goodbye.

Leia stroked the interior of the Falcon’s cockpit fondly and smiled. It was still a piece of junk, held together by rushed prayers and a lot of tape.

“Come to see us off?” Luke asked as he stopped at the entrance. 

“Of course. All my boys are leaving.” 

“Ha, and here I thought you couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the peace and quiet while Han and I are gone.” 

Leia confirmed it with a chuckle. “I will. Maybe you can tell Han to clean this place up  once in a while .” She traced a finger along the wall and showed off the dust stuck to her skin. She rubbed it off on one of the seats.

“Doubtful.” Luke paused and came closer, taking her hands in his. “Leia, I will do everything in my power to bring them both  home .”

“I know you will. I don’t doubt you. But I fear Snoke, he won’t be so easily dealt with.”

“If it all goes well, it will be four against one.”

She nodded and sighed. “Take care of Han too. He... he won’t take any of this very well. I love my son but sometimes,  _ somehow _ , I feel like Han loves him more than I do. And it won’t be easy on him.”

Han cleared his throat from the doorway of the cockpit and Leia startled.

“He’s my boy,” Han stated and swallowed painfully. “Of course, I love him.”

Luke reached out to include him in an embrace with  Leia, and held on to them gently. He’d failed them once, he wouldn’t do it again. He couldn’t.  Han was too stubborn to let himself cry and Leia held on to her own perfect self-image too much to shed a tear, but their combined pain was something that clawed at Luke’s heart. He loved them both so much, he never  wanted them to feel such a deep hurt. Ben’s disappearance was a wound that had never healed. Before his sister could pull away, Luke kissed the top of her head and then reached just a bit higher to kiss Han’s temple. It was all he could offer them. Leia left them to prepare, she had her own job to do. 

Han stared at the space she’d stood and then shook his head.

“Tell me honestly, Luke. What was it we did wrong? Or were we just  bad parents the whole way through?”

“You did the best you could. No parent can be perfect. But we’ll get him back.”

Han struggled to speak and in his usual way of dealing with emotions, he found something entirely different to distract himself with. Suddenly, it was necessary to check the hyperdrive engine. 

* * *

“Don’t you think we should pull out of lightspeed?” Finn asked worriedly as the Falcon continued to fly closer and closer to  Starkiller base. “Like, right now. Before we blow up!”

“Relax, kid. I know what I’m doing,” Han replied, though both Luke and Chewie shared a doubtful look. “The scanners won’t detect a lightspeed approach. We’ve just  gotta time... this... right!”

He yanked the throttle downwards and slowed the ship. The mountain range was  frighteningly close.

“Han, pull up!” Luke yelled, wishing he was the one piloting and not his reckless friend.

“I am!”

The underbelly of the Falcon scraped against the lip of a cliff and soared higher for a moment before bouncing down on the rocks and snow. It scraped hard across the harsh surface and came to a sparking stop on the edge of a drop. Behind them was a long trail of broken trees.

“Let’s hope nobody saw that.”

“No, I’m sure no one saw a silver freighter crashing through the forest like some ugly meteor,” Luke snarked back as he got out of his seat. “Come on, let’s move it before someone wonders what kind of nerf-herder made such a spectacular mess.”

Han rolled his eyes. “I’d like to see you do a better job.”

“Sure, next time we’re attacking a Death Star, I’ll fly and you can sit back comfortably. Though, in my case, I feel rather nauseous.”

“Can we maybe focus?” Finn cut in nervously. Chewie backed him up.

None of them were really prepared for their mission. They knew the plan, of course. Luke and Chewie would search for Rey, and Finn needed to disable the shields somehow and Han was wonderfully tagging along with him. But it was just a plan.  Starkiller was more enormous than they imagined and Finn warned them against drawing any attention or wandering for too long in its maze.

Their way in was a maintenance tunnel, guarded by one very bored trooper who Chewie quickly disposed of. 

“We’ll meet back at the Falcon when we’re done,” Han said, clapping Luke’s shoulder. “Be careful.”

“You too, Han.”

“Luke, if you see my son...”

“I know.”

It was enough for Han. He nodded firmly and set off in the general direction of the command centre where the shield generators should be kept. Finn gave Luke one last nervous look before following Han down into the maze of corridors. 

Luke turned to Chewie. “Let’s get our girl back.”

Chewie nodded eagerly.

* * *

“Tell me, kid, what did you actually do in the Order?” Han asked to make light conversation. They were lost but he wasn’t willing to admit it. 

“Sanitation.”

Han shot him an incredulous look. “Seriously? So how do you know to disable these shields?”

“I don’t but it’s obvious they’d have some.” Finn shrugged. “Just got to find the right person to do it for us. If we can’t-”

“We’ll have to blow it up from the inside,” Han finished, though it wasn’t at all what Finn was going to say.

“Along with us?”

“No, not necessarily. This weapon, the beam it powers, it must store the energy somewhere right? Intel said it was a Kyber core. Maybe we could ignite it, or damage it somehow so the energy escapes and boom!”

Finn wasn’t so sure about that. “Maybe we’ll make that plan B. or C.”

“The command centre can’t be too far now, can it? They don’t make it easy.”

A glint of chrome suddenly caught Finn’s eye and he yanked Han behind a corner, flattening himself to the wall. He peeked to see if Phasma had  disappeared but she was standing there talking to some troopers.

“Shit, okay, think. Think.”

“Are they a problem?” Han asked, taking a quick look for himself.

“Big problem. And I think that’s one of the command centres down that hallway. If we can get in there, it may tell us where the shield generators are kept.” Finn glanced back to Han. “I can’t be caught.”

“And I can?”

“That’s not what I meant-”

“They’re leaving. You get in there, I’ll watch the door. We should’ve stolen some armour while we had the chance. Too late now.”

Finn stalked quietly towards the door of the command  centre and opened the door. It was empty for now, all lights shut off. He went to one of the main panels and ended up switching on the cameras for the sector they were in.

“Well, there’s Luke,” Han pointed out as the beige-robed Jedi ran across one screen to the next, followed closely by Chewbacca. “Maybe this can help us find Rey. You look for the generators, I’ll handle this.”

Finn sat down in the other chair and flicked through the surveillance feed rapidly. He stopped when he saw Lord Ren heading in their direction. Han watched him walk by the very room they were in and he could hear his footsteps outside for a moment.

He looked to Finn. “I have to follow him.”

“Go. I’ll deal with this.”

Han chased after Ren, clinging to the walls and corners as he followed him deep down into the base.

Finn watched him on the monitors until he was out of range and in a different sector. He couldn’t access those cameras without bypassing the security codes so he left it. The generators were close by but with Phasma on the loose, he worried.

* * *

It was time.  Kylo had let this wait for long enough and his time had run out. Snoke wanted to meet Rey at last. The  Sith Lord’s patience had extinguished. 

Kylo knocked on her door and when it opened, Rey was standing there ready to go. Her grey clothes had been changed to black by  request of the Supreme Leader. Rey had to be presentable and the Jedi clothes she’d held onto were far from that. They were similar, though. Loose trousers tucked into tall boots, a simple tight-fit vest to allow movement, and a cropped coat to ward off the cold of the base from her arms. She wouldn’t need it where they were going. Rey insisted on keeping her hair in three buns, unwilling to let that part of her be hidden behind her clever façade.

In the privacy of the empty halls, she squeezed his hand and then dropped it. There was nothing to be said. They both knew the risks.

Rey walked with her head held high and a confident stride. With  Kylo’s face hidden behind his mask and a heavy cloak trailing behind him, they looked terrifying. They looked like hardened  Sith . Anyone who crossed their paths down to the cavern quickly jumped out of the way.

Just as they reached the hall,  Kylo stopped and looked down at Rey.

“We’re in this together,” Rey said gently as a reminder. She could sense his fear and it nearly overpowered her. “Whatever happens, I am by your side.”

Kylo reached out with his gloved hand to stroke her cheek. He was unable to form words but it was enough for her. She understood the feeling was mutual. 

The door to the cavern opened and the Supreme Leader’s throne did not remain empty for long.


	13. Chapter 13

** Chapter 13 **

Supreme Leader Snoke had been a fearsome folk tale to Rey for a good portion of her life. She’d heard rumours and warnings of a creature spawned from the depth of the Dark Side, a monster capable of absolute devastation and horror. As Rey stood in front of the towering  Sith Master, she realised those tales had been lacklustre in their description.

What she could only describe as a disfigured, male Muun watched her with dark beady eyes and a starved expression across his face. It was a short walk along the crimson carpet to the stairs before the throne but under such an intense gaze, Rey counted every step. She could easily imagine Snoke reaching out to touch her through the hologram and it sent repulsed shivers down her spine. Rey was not being observed as a threat or even a burden. Snoke looked at her like she was a prize to be auctioned, one he had full intentions on winning. It was worse than she’d thought, and she spared a pitying look to  Kylo for having dealt with this for years.

However, when Snoke turned his head towards his apprentice, his gaze was full of loathing and disappointment. The change was staggering. Perhaps he’d once thought of  Kylo as an achievement but the  Sith had failed him too many times now.

“At last,” Snoke snarled as  Kylo took off his helmet, knelt and bowed his head. “I was beginning to think I’d never get the honours of meeting you, young Rey. I must admit, you have occupied my thoughts for some time. Such power coursing through your blood. Come closer, child. Let me see you.”

Rey hoped her blank face masked her fears. Her hands trembled as she climbed away from the safety of  Kylo’s side and up to the throne.

“Don’t be afraid, child. I will not harm you.”

“You harmed  Kylo plenty,” Rey snapped before she could stop herself. Snoke recoiled back in his seat.

“Failure warrants punishment. How else can a person learn from their mistakes?  Kylo so happens to make _many_ mistakes. But you, Rey, you seem like a very capable young lady. I see that defiance in your eyes, your hatred for me. Oh, it burns so bright.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I only wish to guide you, child. The era of the Jedi has passed. It is time for the  Sith to rule once more.”

“You want me to abandon everything I know,” Rey corrected.

“And what is it you know, my dear? What did Skywalker teach you all these years? To duel, to feel the  Force? Child’s play. There is so much more out there than you can begin to imagine, abilities you’d never dream up in all your life. You were given a gift, one possessed by so very few, and Skywalker would have you squander it.”

“Luke raised me. He did his best.”

Snoke scoffed and chuckled. Its deep, grating sound echoed in the cavern. 

“Yes, Skywalker fancies himself the ideal father-figure but he is a fool. I have seen your life through my apprentice’s eyes, I saw how you yearned to know your past. Your family. You still yearn to know now.” Snoke held up a hand when Rey readied to argue. “Do not lie, child. I feel it in you. It’s more powerful than your wrath. An orphan girl with no home or loving parents, abandoned by nobodies. You have nothing left in this world, Rey. No one to love you. Except, of course-”

Snoke inclined his head down towards Kylo.

“You have nothing to fear from us or the Dark Side. I merely wish to bring you your greatest desire. A family.”

“And in return?”

“I ask for your undying loyalty. A small price to pay for such a grand promise, wouldn’t you say?”

It truly was. Rey was not considering it for real but if she’d been alone in this journey, perhaps a weaker version of herself would’ve fallen for such sweet words. Snoke knew exactly which strings to pull. If he’d offered the same to  Kylo , she understood why he’d taken the  Sith’s offer.

* * *

The access panel for the shield generators was kept in a separated locked  room and had been guarded by two troopers. Finn stared at his blaster once they were dealt with and mumbled an apology to the corpses as he yanked a security card from one of them and snuck inside.  For some time he’d managed to avoid  Phasma but her chrome helmet turned towards him. He pulled the trigger without a thought but the bolt bounced off her armour.

“FN-2187. I expected you to be on the other side of the  galaxy by now.”

“Yeah, me too. But some friends of mine are relying on me. And it’s Finn.”

Phasma glanced at the panel to the shields and then back to Finn knowingly. “I’m afraid I won’t let you do this.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

The blaster was useless against her so Finn threw his hand out and shoved her backwards into the nearest wall. It wasn’t hard enough to knock Phasma out. He held her there as he went to the panel. 

“You should’ve run, trooper,” Phasma strained to say as she struggled to breathe under the crushing pressure holding her entire body to the wall. 

“I know but I couldn’t. I guess all that loyalty conditioning made me too loyal.”

“To the wrong people.”

“I don’t think so.”

The controls weren’t  complicated but the system wanted a high-level access code. Finn couldn’t proceed without one. A captain could, though. He looked back at Phasma.

“Do it. Lower the shields.”

She scoffed. “I refuse.”

“Okay. I asked nicely.” Finn went to take her helmet off, tossed it away, and tipped her head back with the end of his blaster. “I don’t want to hurt  you but I will. You always valued your personal safety over anything else, so be smart and save your own ass.”

“If I do this, I’m as good as  dead .”

“Maybe. But who knows how much longer you’ll live if you help  me. If you don’t, I can  _ promise _ you it won’t be long.”

Her blue eyes scanned him warily. 

“Why are you doing this?” She asked. “Why are you supporting the wrong side?”

“I don’t care about sides. My friend is stuck  here and I need to get her out. After that, I don’t want anything to do with fighting. We won’t ever have to see each other again.”

“8-2-K-R-5.”

Finn blinked. “What?”

“The code. I refuse to press those buttons myself.”

Finn moved the blaster to his side and took a careful step back towards the panel. As he typed in the code, the white lights on the ceiling turned red and an alarm blared from the speakers in the room and hallway. He whirled round on her and aimed the barrel between her eyes.

“What did you do, Phasma?!”

“You think I’d betray the people who saved me?” 

Phasma had more to say but Finn extended his fingers towards her and went to seek out the real code in the confines of her mind. A blockade awaited him, and Finn did not hesitate to shatter it like fragile glass. He wasn’t thinking about the damage he was wrecking along his path, only his prize. He found it, buried deep alongside memories she’d purposefully kept as far from reach as possible. Images of Parnassos’ desolate surface and Phasma’s dead family of scavengers haunted Finn as he left her mind.

She crumpled to the ground as he turned back to the console. As soon as he hit enter, the alarm stopped and the lights turned white again. On the display, the shields were lowering.

Finn tapped at the comm link strapped to his wrist. “General Organa, it’s Finn. Can you hear me?”

“ _Yes, I can. What’s the situation?_ ” Leia replied from the safety of D’Qar.

“The shields are down. Han and I split up, but I’ll find him and the others. Has he reported in?”

“ _Nothing yet. Be careful and get out of there quick. I’m sending the fighters._ ”

“Copy that, General.” Finn cut the call and glanced down at Phasma. She was unconscious and bleeding from her nose and ears. Whatever he had done had harmed her greatly. He’d warned her. There was nothing Finn could do for Phasma now.

He took his blaster and ran out, hoping to find Han or Luke somewhere along the way. It wouldn’t be long before the base would be shot up and bombed.

* * *

The orbiting Star Destroyers were going to be a problem if Black Team judged their approach wrong. It took a skilled hand to fly directly into a planet’s atmosphere while still in hyperspace. Relying on his Astromec and sheer luck, Poe slowed his X-Wing and pulled up before he crashed into the deep trench of  Starkiller’s super weapon.

Once he was safe, he peered down the canyon of machinery. It spanned for miles in opposite directions and the barrel was even more menacing up close, and his systems were beginning to fry the closer he came towards the tendril of solar energy.

“Everybody, keep your distance. This thing is wrecking my ship and I’m at least three miles out. We’ll never get close to the cannon, so let’s find that oscillator.”

Poe turned his ship around and began scanning the cloudy horizon for an enormous vent. It wasn’t hard to find but it wasn’t the only one. Further in the distance was another oscillator.

“Alright, come to my position. Let’s not waste time.”

The fleet of rebel fighters was not immense in size but with quick hands and quicker trigger-fingers, a barrage of blaster fire was laid to the surface of the oscillator. 

Though the alarm had only blared for a brief minute, that was enough time to alert every officer and trooper that someone had tampered with the security measures. As the data filtered through, General Hux knew exactly who’d been coerced and where.

“Send as many men as you can to sector three,” he ordered to the nearest officer. “And lock down sectors four and five.”

Just as the officer obeyed, an explosion went off in the distance high above them. The impact of the blast sent tremors through the walls and floors.

“They’re targeting the northern oscillator, sir!”

Hux spun towards the displays. “Who’s they? Have we got visuals?”

The panels around the main command centre switched rapidly to scan the air. Through the smoke, X-Wings dived down to shoot at the closed surface of the oscillator. 

“Resistance fighters. Deploy our fleet and get me Pryde on comms. His blockade should’ve stopped them.”

Hux stepped up to the relay and kept an eye on the fight above them. The base was safe. A measly group of rebels wouldn’t do much harm but their sheer existence made his blood boil. How could they have survived  Starkiller ? The answer was simple. They’d fled in time. Someone had warned them. 

Commander Pryde flickered through the connection. The older man looked thoroughly worried as he straightened his back and saluted Hux nervously.

“General-”

“There are Resistance pilots on my base, Commander. I expect you to do your job. You and I will have a word once these pests are dealt with.”

“Yes, Sir. They slipped past us in hyperspace.”

“And you did not care to warn me?” Pryde became exceptionally nervous under Hux’s scrutiny. “Contact the other Star Destroyers. Form a proper barricade this time and do not let them escape.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Hux jabbed the console so he wouldn’t have to deal with his useless subordinate and turned to Lieutenant Mitaka. 

“I have to inform the Supreme Leader of this mess. Search the base for intruders. Lock it all down if you must and find Captain Phasma. It was her code used for the alarm. And get that shield back up.” He paused from his demanding rant and looked back at the screens. “Start up the weapon as soon as it is ready. We may need to use it.”

As Hux hurried to report to Snoke, he passed by the locked-down sector and noticed a young man running down the halls with a blaster in hand. There was one rebel. Hux would be praised by Snoke if he caught one himself. Perhaps this one would know where the rebels were hiding and he’d get to fire  Starkiller once more. If not, any ship shot down could be recovered and its navigational path scanned and traced. Either way, the Resistance would not live for long.

He tapped the comm link on his wrist. 

“This is Hux, quarantine sector two immediately.”

“Yes, Sir.” 

A moment later, the lights dimmed red and the doors leading out to the other sectors sealed shut. 

Finn was running out of time. The explosions above him acted as a timer to motivate his legs to move faster. He needed to find the others and escape, but he couldn’t run to every sector and check each camera feed for his allies. Especially when they were quickly being closed off to him. He could read the sign above the bulkhead indicating sector one but just as he reached it, the blast-door slid shut. Finn smacked his fist against the  durasteel .

“Come on!”

There had to be another way. Finn aimed his blaster at the panels.

“Don’t bother wasting your time. Those doors could handle a nuclear blast. Or any thermal detonation, which I can only imagine is the Resistance’s plan.”

Finn spun around with his blaster pointed at General Hux. He was only armed with a small, holstered blaster on his hip which he didn’t bother to reach for. Hux crossed his hands behind his back. The only way back into the heart of sector two was through him.

“Get out of my way! I don’t want to kill you,” Finn insisted though his grip remained steady.

“I wonder if that’s your conditioning speaking or if you’re merely a coward,” Hux replied, taking a confident step forward.

“I don’t want to hurt people. That’s not cowardly.”

Hux scoffed and gestured with one arm as another explosion rocked the mountainside. 

“And what do you call this? Not that you’d ever win but say you succeeded in destroying this place, do you know how many people you’d send to their deaths? Have you got any clue how many live here with their families? What about the Destroyers above us?”

Finn couldn’t begin to guess. Hundreds of thousands perhaps. Maybe more.

“It was foolish coming here,” Hux continued, coming closer but not giving Finn a chance to run past him. “The Supreme Leader has sought you out desperately and here you are, offering yourself up. I suppose the bright side is that I don’t have to pay out any ransom for you.”

“I won’t let anyone take me to Snoke.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have much choice.” Hux extended his gloved hand. “Come quietly now. You may not want to harm  anyone but I don’t subject myself to such stupid rules.”

Finn steadied his grip. “It’s not set to stun, General. Last chance. Get out of my way.”

Hux didn’t move an inch. He smiled. 

“I warned you,” Finn justified as he pulled the trigger. 

The bolt shot out in a flash but halfway between the barrel and the General’s chest, it stopped. Finn stared at the fizzling bolt hovered in mid-air, and up to Hux who casually walked around  it. He came to Finn’s side and reached out to take the blaster from his shaking  hands, and tossed the weapon aside like a toy.

“If only you weren’t a traitor, I would’ve helped you conceal your power from Snoke.” Hux placed his hand on Finn’s shoulder. “But you made the wrong choice and sided with the enemy. And you harmed my friend. How else would you have convinced her to lower the shields?”

“Don’t take me to Snoke. Please.”

Hux patted Finn’s cheek mockingly. “You should’ve come quietly.” 

The General punched Finn just below the ribs and watched him crumple down on the floor. Finn gasped for air and stared up at Hux as he called for reinforcements and let the bolt strike a wall. There was no escape now. Finn had failed his mission. 

A hand briefly touched his head and he fell unconscious.

* * *

Han stared at the door  Kylo had sealed behind himself and Rey, but he wasn’t sure he could follow. He’d caught a glimpse of the cavern beyond the door and its rock-like throne. Just before the last inch was shut, Han saw the monster who’d kidnapped and manipulated his son for nearly a decade, and now his adopted daughter. 

What could he possibly do against something so powerful? 

“Han?”

“Fuck!” Han whirled on Luke, clutching his chest and blaster. He glared at his best friend. “You’re going to kill me one of these days.”

“Oh hush up, you’re fine. We need to get in that room.” Luke gestured at the door with his  lightsaber hilt. “This may be our last chance to save them.”

“I know, but I don’t know what good I’ll be. Or Chewie. No offence, buddy.” 

“You both stay behind me. I’ll handle this.” Luke held out his hand and slid the door open slowly, peeking through before stepping down into the cavernous hall.

Clinging to the shadows along the walk, Luke crept inside and gestured for Han and Chewie to follow carefully. There was nowhere to hide or duck behind cover. The walkway towards the throne was a straight shot and Luke knew he had mere seconds before he was noticed. 

“-Wouldn’t you say?” Snoke asked, his deep voice echoed against the stone walls. 

Luke shuddered at the way he looked at Rey, like some sort of prize he was owed, but from the way she stood and spoke- Rey was not so easily swayed. Kylo, on the other hand, was bowed down like a servant and he was the first to notice Luke’s presence in the room.

Kylo glanced over his shoulder and stood up sharply. 

“Skywalker,” Snoke greeted with a flourish of his hands, “The legend himself. Come out of the shadows, you do not need to hide. Show yourself to me, it’s been such a long time coming.”

Luke stepped onto the walkway and stared up at the towering hologram. “I didn’t come here for you, Snoke.” He glanced towards Rey and held out his hand. “It’s time to come home, Rey. You don’t belong here.”

Rey observed him like he was an apparition and she moved to step down, but  Kylo held up one hand. It stopped her right in her tracks and she didn’t fight it.

“Don’t betray me now,”  Kylo warned, as he took his  lightsaber off his belt. He began marching towards Luke.

“I want you to come home too, Ben. Your parents miss you. I miss you. We can all be a family again,” Luke insisted, even as  Kylo’s lightsaber ignited.

“You should’ve thought of that before you tried to kill me. I’m not returning and she-” He gestured in Rey’s direction with the red blade. “-Is not coming with you, either. I told her everything. You kept the truth from her all these  years but I showed it to her. You’re nothing but a liar and a child-killer, Skywalker. Leave now-”

Snoke leaned back in his throne comfortably. “Surely you don’t plan to let him go unharmed, my apprentice. After all, he destroyed your life. Take your revenge, boy.”

Kylo glanced up to Snoke with uncertainty. Had he heard that right? His master gave him a confirming nod. When  Kylo turned back to Luke, his eyes were alight with gleeful fury. 

“No one will save you, old man.” 

Luke ignited his green  saber and bore the brunt of  Kylo’s sudden and violent arch; shoving him back a step, but not enough to dodge the powerful slash that followed it. Their sabers crashed together and Luke saw the wrath up close.

“ Kylo , don’t-” Rey protested but something held her back. Snoke took her arm through the hologram and kept her in place.

He leaned down to her level. “Do not interrupt  him, child. He needs to avenge the poor, lost boy Skywalker killed in him. Skywalker must pay.”

Rey had a million things she wanted to scream at Snoke but she forced herself to stay still and watch. She needed to kill Snoke but first, she’d need to meet him in person. He was never going to reveal himself if Rey destroyed any kind of trust. 

“You’ve grown weak,”  Kylo taunted as he knocked Luke backwards and sneered at him scrambling on the floor for his saber.

“Stop this, Ben! If not for yourself, then for Rey. You would have her go through the same torture?”

“She is my apprentice. She will do what must be done.”

Luke shoved him back with a jab and tried to maintain some distance between them.  Kylo was stronger than he’d ever  predicted and Luke’s aging body was failing to move with the same agility. He held out his blade to keep  Kylo away while he caught his breath.

“Snoke would only use her! Let her go, Ben. She has nothing to do with any of this!”

“You tried to turn her against me!”  Kylo spun with his blade and crashed down on Luke’s, making the Jedi lose balance and crumple. “And my name is not Ben! Ben died a long time ago, you should remember killing him-”

Luke strained to keep the cross-guard blade from slicing through his metal hand.

“I was wrong! I never wanted this! I made a mistake and it will haunt me-” Luke’s grip faltered and the blade sank through the metal wrist, severing it from his arm. The Jedi yelled out and struggled to keep the blades from cutting deeper towards flesh.

“Enough!” Han bellowed as he couldn’t handle standing by any longer. He was outmatched and  outgunned but he needed this to stop.

Kylo stepped back away from Luke and turned his  saber off. Han ran up to his friend and knelt by his side, trying to prop Luke up against his chest. The Jedi clutched his severed wrist in shock.

“That’s enough, Ben! Stop! Can’t you see you’ve already won?”

“Your father is right, boy,” Snoke interrupted with a smug smile. “ _ You _ have done enough. It’s time for Rey’s training to truly begin.” 

Rey looked up at the Supreme Leader with immense fear as the hold on her arm faded. “No. No, I won’t.”

“You wish to prove yourself, don’t you, girl?”

Kylo walked up the stairs to the throne and cradled her cheek with one gloved hand. His skin was damp with sweat and his eyes were burning a deep crimson, but Rey realised as she held his gaze that it did not come from the red lights around the cavern. 

“Kill him, Rey. For me,” he pleaded as his fingers fell back to his side and stood behind her, as if to keep her from stumbling back. “After everything he did, he doesn’t deserve to live.”

“Don’t listen to them, Rey!” Han begged. 

Snoke waved his hand and Han was sent flying backwards, right into Chewie. Luke was left exposed and gasping on his knees as he stared up at Rey, high above him on the tallest step. 

“Rey, please... We’re your family!”

“Even now he can’t stop lying to you. He was never your family, child,” Snoke fuelled, leaning forward in his seat. “Your grandfather knew when to strike his enemies down.”

Rey took a step forward and then  another, and swallowed back her tears as she looked down at Luke and ignited her  saber . 

“Good. A Kenobi should never hesitate.”

“Kenobi?”

As Rey turned to ask why  Kylo sounded wrathful at the name, she heard his  saber ignite. Luke watched, unable to do anything, as the red blade arched through the air behind Rey and severed downwards through her left arm and leg. Her scream was short-lived as the pain tore through her body and she fell down the  steps, and rolled to a stop in front of Luke.

Rey gasped wordlessly as she stared up at him in confusion before the pain consumed her and the darkness swallowed her. 

“Rey!” Luke gathered her into his arms. He barely registered his friends running to his side.

Snoke stood from his throne and reached out to crush  Kylo . The young  Sith looked up at him with such hatred, gritting his teeth against the pain as he refused to be brought down to his knees.

“You stupid boy! What have you done?!”

“You knew all this time?! Kenobi was my grandfather’s sworn enemy and you would’ve had her surpass me!” He glanced down at Rey and glared as Luke tried to retreat with her limp body. “A Kenobi. I should have known you’d replace me with her. I’ve never been good enough.”

“You have failed me for the last time, boy-”

Snoke suddenly fell from his throne to his knees in front of Kylo and clutched at his throat.

“It was you who failed me, Master.”

Snoke’s elongated fingers crushed Kylo further but the  Sith endured the pain until it began to fade along with Snoke’s strength. His master clawed at the ground of his temple and  Kylo wished in that moment to see his death in person, rather than through the blue hue of the hologram. 

“Wretched... boy...”

Snoke glared at  Kylo one last time before he took his last gasping breath and slumped across the tiles of his ancient temple. He was dead. At long last,  Kylo was free. As though a fog had been lifted from his mind,  Kylo had never felt such freedom in a very long time. When he looked out across the cavern with crimson and gold eyes, he breathed air as a new man.

He did not stop Skywalker from escaping with Rey but he met Solo’s gaze for a moment. It was the Wookie he should’ve been watching. Unrestrained, Chewbacca lost control of his emotions and fired a bolt from his bowcaster and struck Kylo in the side. The bolt shredded through the heavy material of his thick belt and tore through his skin, collapsing Kylo down onto his knees.

“Chewie, no!”

At last, Han had shaken off the shock of seeing his children hurt and yanked at the Wookie’s arm to pull him away.  Left alone in the cavern,  Kylo gasped and put pressure against the bleeding wound. His heart was beating so fast, he feared it would break out from his ribcage as the endorphins from the fight began to clear and left his mind refreshed and awake.

The Supreme Leader was dead. 

He had single-handedly murdered his master. And murdered a Kenobi. 

Rey would’ve turned on him. She would’ve been trained to be better, stronger, by Snoke and crippled him like Vader.  Kylo had to do it. He had to cut away the past and any chance to be defeated.


	14. Chapter 14

** Chapter 14 **

“That oscillator sure can take a beating,” Poe panted into his helmet’s mic as he  strafed across the metal surface for the dozenth time.  Fire had broken out in one section but it was far from destroyed.

“We’re going to need reinforcements. General Organa, can you spare anyone else?”

“I already have, Black Leader. There’s not much else we can do,” Leia answered as she watched the number of rebel fighters diminish on her screen. “Retreat if you must.”

“No, no, we can do this.”

In the distance, the last of the sun’s energy was seeping into the weapon’s core.

“Black Leader, I’m seeing a lot of activity of my screen here,” one of the pilots said. “I think they’re turning their shields back on.”

“Then we haven’t got long,” Poe replied confidently. “Keep those fighters at bay.”

Inside the main command centre, Lieutenant Mitaka watched as the rebels started to lower the integrity of the northern oscillator to a critical level even as the shield came back up over the planet’s surface. Due to its size, it took much longer to regenerate. And since the sun was not completely drained, the shield would not close properly. 

He called back the Tie Fighters and stopped  the reloading sequence. Either this would get him a promotion, or it doomed them all.

Poe swooped over the oscillator again and watched with glee as something exploded on its surface. The golden tendril cut in half.

“Captain, the shield is closing fast! Get out of there now,” Leia ordered.

“I can do this, General!”

“Retreat. That is an order, Captain!” 

“Black Leader,” a pilot interrupted, “It’s readying to fire, sir!”

“What? What’s the target?”

“I’m not sure, sir. I don’t think there is one.” Poe glanced towards the weapon and its barrel was glowing red. “The shields are closed completely!”

It made no sense. Why would they-

“Get off the planet now!” He yelled desperately as  Starkiller’s core powered up.

Poe pushed his X-Wing's engines to the max and spun the ship down into the trench, taking refuge in one of the many alcoves. 

* * *

A tremendous explosion rocked the foundations of the bunker and Han worried about the fighters above them. Had they destroyed the oscillator at last? They were close enough to their exit that he dared to hope they’d make it out alive. All of them. Rey was nothing but dead weight at this point, unresponsive and bleeding from her horrid wounds onto Chewbacca’s fur. The stumps of her arm and thigh had been mostly cauterised by the  lightsaber but not entirely. The risk of Rey bleeding to death or dying from the shock was a reality at the forefront of Han’s mind.

The hatch they’d snuck in through was in reach but there was no sign of Finn. His mission had clearly been successful, judging from the fighting above them, and Han had to hope he was waiting for them back at the Falcon. 

Chewie ran through the snow and ignored any of the ships battling in the air, even when they swooped too close to the ground to lose the pursuing Ties. Luke was hardly aware of his surroundings as he followed the Wookie towards the freighter. It was Han who noticed that they were not alone anymore.

His son had followed them.

Sparing a glance to his companions, Han stood his ground to make sure they’d reach the Falcon first. 

“It’s over, Ben,” he began, holding his arms up to try and pull his son into an embrace. “Snoke is dead, right? It’s all over. You can come home.”

“It was never about coming home,”  Kylo corrected. “Rey was foolish. She thought there was no space for the both of us in this world. She would’ve killed me after, ended the  Sith forever. I couldn’t allow that.”

Han shook his head. “You know that’s not true-”

“Did you know?”

“I-”

Kylo took a couple steps forward, leaving a trail of blood behind him as it dripped from the wound at his side. “Did you know?!”

Han swallowed and nodded stiffly. “Yes.”

“And you kept it from me? Was anyone ever going to tell me she was Obi-Wan Kenobi’s descendant?”

“We kept the truth from you both for your safety. If Snoke had known-”

“Oh, he _knew._ That’s why he wanted her so badly.”  Kylo threw his arm back and pointed back towards the base, his eyes glassy and wet. He longed for the safety of his helmet. “The second she came here I was obsolete to him. I was nothing!”

“So come home with us, Ben.”

“I warned you not to call me that anymore. I’m not leaving with you.”

“Then why come out here?”

Kylo nodded towards the Falcon. “I came to kill Skywalker.”

“I won’t let you.”

The  lightsaber in  Kylo’s hand ignited and Han gulped nervously. He hovered a hand over his own blaster but deep down, they both knew he’d never pull the trigger. Behind Han, Luke unclasped his cloak and stepped off the freighter.

“Get out of my way, Solo.”  Kylo gestured with the end of his blade. “I will kill you too. I’ll kill every single tie to the past.”

“Ha n, get back to the Falcon,” Luke instructed. “I’ll handle this.”

“Don’t hurt my son.” Han turned to Luke but he was given a look that nullified his begging. 

“Go, Han.”

The  smuggler looked between his best friend and his son, and was at a complete loss. He couldn’t bear to lose either. He gripped Luke’s shoulder desperately and took slow steps backwards to the ship.

“I hesitated that night. I won’t this time,”  Kylo promised as he stalked towards Luke. His body felt heavy with pain but it only fuelled the wrath inside him.

“I never wanted any of this,” Luke admitted gently. “I only wanted to protect you from the Dark Side. But you’ve gone too far, Ben. Your parents were certain there was still hope left for you but this? What you did to Rey-”

“She’s my enemy.”  Kylo suddenly dashed forward, his  saber cutting through the air viciously as Luke barely reacted in time to block.

“She was your friend! I warned her to stay away from you. From Snoke.”

“The Kenobi’s are not friends. They’re liars and manipulators! My grandfather lost everything to his so-called friend. I refuse to suffer the same fate.”

Luke pushed him back and settled into a defensive pose as  Kylo stalked around him with feline grace, something he shouldn’t have been capable of from the constant trail of blood. 

“You’re not Vader. You never will be.”

Kylo spun his  saber and flexed his arm. “We’ll see about that.”

He moved forward with too much momentum for his failing body and Luke dodged to the side and caught his arm with an upwards slash.  Kylo stumbled back but Luke was faster, and in that moment, he realised that it was never going to end with Ben returning to the Light. Luke pushed  Kylo back until he found an opening in his defence, and slashed up towards the  Sith’s head. The end of his green saber cut across Kylo’s face and the Sith fell back into the snow, gasping as he held out his blade.

“Can’t you see what you’ve become?” Luke stared down at his old apprentice wearily. “Do you see all the harm you’ve done?”

“Then... kill me,”  Kylo strained, “End it all, just like you always wanted to. Kill Solo’s only child.”

The Jedi looked up towards the sky as the sun’s link to the weapon disconnected before it was entirely finished. 

“No. You’ve done that yourself already.” 

He turned his back on  Kylo and went to the Falcon, leaving the  Sith panting in the snow and clutching desperately onto life.  Kylo watched the engines fire up and the freighter soar away, just as a deafening rumble came from the horizon.

He stared up at the sky as it turned from grey to crimson,  Starkiller’s energy consuming everything in its path as it blasted upwards and crawled against the confines of the planetary shield, incinerating the surface of the planet in a blaze.  What strength he had left was channelled into a Force shield around himself. The fires burned above him and  Kylo watched the world around him melt and crack away beneath the scorching power of the sun. The ships which had been battling across the sky vanished in a blink; the pilots would not have had time to sense any pain before it was over.

“Can anyone read me? Is anyone still alive? Hello?”

Poe smacked the side panel as he looked up towards the red light above him. Who could be so reckless? The base had to have been destroyed, surely. When the light diminished, a section of the shield was opened to let the remaining lingering energy clear out into the vacuum of space, far from the Star Destroyers.

Carefully leaving the safety of the trench, Poe noticed that the base had survived just fine. The snow and most of the living organisms on Ilum had been destroyed, except the First Order safe inside the walls.

The fleet was gone. No traces left of the ships or its pilots.

Poe punched the hyperdrive into motion and shot out through the gap in the shield.

“-Dameron! Dameron, are you there?” 

“I’m here, General. They fired on their own base to kill us. It worked, General. I didn’t see anyone else.”

“And the First Order?”

“We failed, General. I’m heading back now.”

“Take the long way, it’s possible they’ll track you. I’ll see you soon, Poe. Be safe.”

What good was that? He was the only one to survive.

Back inside the base, Lieutenant Mitaka could not believe his idea had worked. The officers around him watched the devastation with fear but as the energy dispersed and the base was still in one piece, he received a clap on the back and applause. They would not last long. He had acted without orders but now the weapon and its oscillators were safe and could be repaired.

* * *

Very few things could bring General Hux to his knees. The sight of the dead Supreme Leader, still wavering through the hologram, was one of them. Slumped on the floor, Snoke appeared as if he’d died as a lowly weakling; his expression of pure hatred etched across his pallid face even in death. 

He did not look too long at the dismembered limbs nearby. They did not belong to Lord Ren. In fact, the  Sith apprentice was nowhere to be found. Hux watched the fizzing hologram for a moment longer. When he stood, he spit at the throne and turned his back on Snoke’s corpse.

The explosions stopped during his walk back towards the command centre. Silence reigned over  Ilum . It unnerved him and as he stepped into the room full of stunned commanders, he saw exactly why on the screens. His planet was burning.

The blast from  Starkiller had been a short one but it contained enough power to permanently destroy the surface. The white mountains were now charred spires stabbing through the black smoke that filled the sky. The steam from the evaporated snow quickly turned to murky rain that extinguished most of the fires which had broken out in the more densely forested sectors. It was both beautiful and hideous at the same time, and the General found its maker in the centre of an applauding crowd. Silence reigned from his arrival.

“Was it necessary?” Hux asked as his presence was finally noticed. For a moment, he wondered if Ren felt the same sort of power that came from being so fiercely feared. The expressions on the officers were mundane compared to the absolute fright on Lieutenant Mitaka’s face. 

“Yes, sir. I believe it was. The entire Resistance fleet was destroyed before they could implode the northern oscillator.” Mitaka moved away from the safety of his fellow men and knelt in front of the General with his head bowed. “I accept any punishment the Supreme Leader deems fit, sir. I know I acted without orders and I will gladly pay for my insolence. Execute me if you must.”

“Get up.”

Mitaka faltered and dared to look up. “What?”

“I said get up. It’s not treason to win a battle for the First Order.”

“But the Supreme Leader must decide-”

“I’ll decide, Lieutenant.” Hux held out his hand and Mitaka graciously took it, keeping his head down. “I want scouts in the air and a thorough damage report. If anyone survived, I want to know. And find me Lord Ren.”

* * *

Only two ships returned to  D’Qar . General Organa stood under the shelter of an entrance and watched through the thick curtain of rain as the Falcon lowered itself and flew into the hangar. She was not sure what to expect despite Han’s warning. She’d called for medics to stand by and as Chewie walked out with Rey in his arms, Leia felt her heart drop. The poor girl was taken away immediately and Chewie ran after them, his fur clumped with dried blood. 

Luke came out next, missing a hand and wearing such a dark expression she’d not seen since the Jedi temple on Dantooine had been destroyed. He barely looked her way before he was gone. It was Han who stopped to speak with her but as he tried, he faltered and broke into sobs. Leia pulled him into her arms and held on tightly.

“Where’s our son?”

Her question was only met with quiet, muffled crying. Han’s shoulders heaved under her hands.

“Is he dead?”

“He was caught... in the blast,” Han muttered, barely audible, “I don’t know if he made it out. Leia, I failed him. He... Rey...”

“He’s strong, Han. We’d know if he-” Leia stopped herself from finishing that sentence. The words hurt too much to think, let alone say. “Go to Rey. She needs you now, more than ever.”

Han nodded and kissed the top of her head. His words were getting stuck in his throat again so he said nothing more. What else could he even say? They’d lost completely.

No amount of beeping from BB-8 could snap Poe out of his thoughts. Not until Leia climbed up on the wing, sat down on it and knocked on his window. He let the cockpit lift up. 

“I didn’t even see them die,” he whispered. “I hid and the next moment, they were all gone. Not a trace of them left.”

“You’re not to blame, Poe. I know you too well, I know what’s going on in your head. There was nothing any of us could have done to predict this.”

“You told me to retreat. I should have listened.” Poe rested his head on his arms. His helmet was somewhere down on the floor between his feet.

“We all know the risk of fighting. They knew it too. We will survive this. We have to.”

Poe lifted his head enough to see the General’s kind but pained smile. She was putting it on for him. 

“With all due respect, General, I think I’d like to take a break from piloting. It’s not like we still have a fleet. It’s all gone and I don't think assigning me elsewhere is a good idea. I can’t... I-”

She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I understand. Take all the time you need, Poe. But I’ll need my captain back eventually.”

Poe understood the depth of her demand. It was a plea for him not to do something stupid. They’d all seen it, the trauma consuming an individual until it was too much to bear. He didn’t tell her he was way past that point already. 

“I need to check on Rey,” she said with a pat.

“Why? Is she okay?”

Leia shook her head. “No, no, she is far from okay. Ben... perhaps it’s best you see for yourself.”

The machines around the room were too noisy for Luke’s liking. Their constant beeping was a reminder that Rey was in a very critical condition. The bleeding had stopped but her body was in shock.  He sat by her bed with his eyes closed and shushed her through the Force, but it was like she was beneath deep waters; unable to hear or see him. His own pain was nothing compared to what she was going through, even mentally. He couldn’t begin to imagine the hurt in her heart. 

Limbs could be replaced, Luke was proof of that. Her heart could not be.

“I should have told you, right from the beginning. I’m so sorry, Rey.”

Luke could only hope she felt his apology, even if she did not hear it for herself. He took her remaining hand in his own and stroked her knuckles. 

* * *

With the aid of a tracker, troopers found Lord Ren amongst the desolation of  Ilum . Surrounded by a circle of melting, bloody snow, the  Sith had managed to survive the rain of fire. He was brought to the  medbay unconscious and given enough  bacta strips to aid his recovery. 

When he awoke a few hours later, the droids had left and he stared at the General sat beside his bed tapping away at his  datapad . Hux had made himself comfortable in an armchair with his legs crossed at the knee and the tablet balanced carefully on top.  Kylo gratefully realised he’d been moved to his repaired private quarters, a sight that infused him with relief. He hated the medbay, even though his arms were still filled with needles and tubes no matter where they placed him. 

“Supreme Leader Snoke is dead,” Hux announced as he looked up from his screen.

“I killed him,”  Kylo admitted with a hiss of pain as he tried to sit up. His abdomen burned sharply as he made himself lie back down, a tentative hand over the blast wound. His face felt numb and one eye was closed but he could see the bandages in his periphery.

“At long last. And the girl?”

“Dealt with.”

“Good.” The  datapad was set aside on the floor and Hux linked his fingers over his knee. “I know you must be exhausted but I have one more question.”

Kylo’s head barely moved and the General took that positively. There was a sudden pressure on the  Sith’s throat, like a hand was gripping it tightly but not squeezing yet. The machines pumping nutrients and painkillers into his body stopped working and  Kylo felt the change almost immediately. The pain at his side doubled and his eye socket burned deeply, like a migraine had fully settled there, hammering away at his brain.  Kylo winced and gritted his teeth, and looked up to Hux who smiled sweetly. He knew that smile too well.

“Are we still allies?” Hux asked, maintaining the pressure and withholding the painkillers sadistically. “I want to be certain, moving on from today, that I can trust you.”

“We are... allies,”  Kylo whimpered. 

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” 

The invisible hand retreated from his throat and the tubes started pumping drugs into  Kylo’s bloodstream once more. He sighed in relief but he eyed the General  worryingly .

“I did not know you were like me,” he said softly. Even in his wrecked state,  Kylo reached out to sense the Force in Hux but could barely notice it. “How?”

“I am nothing like you, Ren. There are many things you do not know, things I will never tell you. And if you pry into my head, you will pay.”

“I won’t.”

“Good, in that case, I shall leave you to rest.” The General gathered his  datapad and stood. “Oh, I forgot. One last thing: I captured FN-2187. He’s in a heavily guarded ship headed to the Supreme Leader’s temple. It was Snoke’s bidding to have him sent to Talok but now... Shall I have him shot? Or would you like to throw him back into the trooper program?”

“No. Don’t hurt him,”  Kylo replied automatically.

Rey had asked  Kylo not to harm the trooper. She wasn’t here now. She couldn’t manipulate his feelings anymore.

“I can use him. He’s powerful but he needs guidance. I’ll train him.”  Kylo paused. He wanted the Supreme Leader’s title, it was his by right, but for now, he refrained from asking. The General could very easily decide to go back on their alliance and end him now. What a pitiful death that would be. 

“I need to sleep. We’ll talk more later.”

“Of course. I’ll stop by tomorrow.” Hux hovered by the door and glanced over his shoulder. “Oh and Ren? I know you warned the Resistance on Vandor. I’ll allow this to be our secret but aid the rebels again, and I will brand you as a traitor to the First Order.”

When he left,  Kylo exhaled and stared at the wall to his right. The screen was off but he turned it on with a thought, and looked at the desolated surface of  Ilum before he switched it off.


	15. Chapter 15

** Chapter 15 **

Poe sat on a crate beside the Millennium Falcon and waited for Han to inevitably come to him. More so, come to the ship and leave. That was the smuggler’s awful habit: running away when things got too tough. Sure enough, it didn’t take that long. Han went under the guise of needing to check the ship’s condition after narrowly escaping  Starkiller . At night, when everyone was asleep or trying to sleep. Poe found it impossible and he was sure others did too. 

“What happened to Finn?” Poe asked, startling Han.

“I don’t know, kid. Why are you up here anyways? It’s been a long day, you should get some rest.”

“So should you. Did you look for him?” Han’s expression was pulling all sorts of excuses but Poe saw right through them. “You didn’t, did you?”

“Rey was dying.”

Poe swallowed and averted his eyes. “I know that. But you left him behind.”

“Kid, there was no way I could’ve tracked him down! Everything happened so fast. I don’t know what happened to him. It’s possible he... didn’t make it.”

“Snoke wanted him alive. Ren wanted him too.”

Han crossed his arms. The floor seemed more important than the judgmental look Poe was giving him. Nothing could be done now but the young pilot was bitter and angry. Han tried not to take it too personally. Poe pulled himself off the crate and onto his feet. 

“You’re leaving again. Right when she needs you more than ever.”

“I never was good at sticking around.”

“You’re right about that.”

Han’s head whipped up sharply. “What am I supposed to do?! We lost! The First Order has already taken over the Outer Rim and they’ll be moving into the Core soon enough. What then? What are we supposed to do against something like that? We make a move and that fucking overgrown Death Star will blow us all up to pieces! How many times are we going to run to the next planet and then the next? All we do is run and hide and hope we get a stab at the enemy somewhere.”

“Han-”

Han jabbed his finger against Poe’s chest. “I have fought for my life since I was a child! It doesn’t matter what face the enemy wears, there’s always one lurking in the dark. When does it stop? When can I stop running? You think I don’t know Leia needs me, but what use am I?”

He paused to breathe and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“I’m not leaving for long. I can’t do that to her. I just... I need time to think. I can’t do that here. Look, if she asks, tell her she can find me on Takodana.”

“I will... but Han, we can’t give up.”

“I know that.” Han reached out and clapped Poe’s shoulder. “I’ll see you around, kid.”

Poe stood a safe distance away from the Falcon as Han took off into the night. The man had a point but Poe couldn’t just give up like that. 

He wandered back into the base and ended up in the medbay, where Rey was deeply asleep. No one could predict exactly when she’d wake up. 

Leia raised her head from her folded arms. She had passed out beside Rey. Poe bowed his head.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, General.”

Leia waved her hand. “It’s alright. Come in, Poe. There’s something I need to give you.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the data drive that had been stolen by Lord Ren. Poe took it carefully. “Rey had it on her. I don’t think the First Order decrypted it.”

“Or they don’t want to share the information with us.”

“Perhaps. Either way, I want what’s on there.”

Poe frowned. “I thought we didn’t have the tech for it.”

“True, so I need someone to find it.” She closed her hand over his. “I want you to do this for me.”

He pulled his hand away. “I can’t. I need to find Finn. They have him somewhere.”

“It’s possible this could lead us to him. Remember, the warning spoke of the Dark Side.” She took his cheek in her palm. “Please, Poe, I need you.”

“Alright... fine. I will.”

“Thank you.”

Poe admired the drive in his hand. He’d forgotten entirely about it. That mission seemed so long ago now. He would find someone or something that could tell him what was so important about this little thing.

* * *

Any moment now,  Kylo expected the Supreme Leader’s throne to fill with his dead master’s hologram. It never did, of course, but the fear was still very much there and it would be until  Kylo saw the corpse for himself.  He stared at the dark throne and took slow steps up to it, stroking the armrest when he reached the top. His body had barely healed and a medical droid would surely chastise him for being out of bed so soon but he couldn’t wait any longer. He carefully sat down and leaned back, exhaling through his nose as his wounds ached sharply.

“Is it as uncomfortable as it looks?” Hux asked as he joined his side. 

“Very much so,”  Kylo admitted. “I’ll need a new one. In fact, the whole room must change but that can all wait. I want the coronation to happen soon.”

“Coronation? Oh, I see. You think  _ you _ should be Supreme Leader.” Hux looked out across the cavern. He’d never seen it from such height. The Sith were always so needlessly dramatic. 

“I killed him.”

“A task long overdue. And that qualifies you to be a leader? Of my Order? I refuse to trade one useless tyrant for another.”

Kylo glared at him as he stood shakily, supporting himself with the throne. “I am not useless. I acted when you could not.” His hand darted forward and clutched the lapel of the General’s greatcoat. “I am sick and tired of people doubting me. I’m not asking for your permission to ascend to Supreme Leader. I’m taking that crown, whether you like it or not, and I will fight until my dying breath to keep it.”

Hux retaliated by taking hold of the  Sith’s collar. “Then I suggest you do a far better job at it than Snoke. It would be a shame if you ended up like him.”

“I thought we were allies.”

“We are, as long as your personal interests do not interfere with the First Order. Speaking of which, Snoke had me delay our invasion of the Inner Core. Shall we get under way at last?”

Kylo let go of his greatcoat and stumbled back into the seat. 

“Yes. You may take Coruscant.”

The General looked utterly gleeful. “Excellent. I’ll reserve a seat on the shuttle for you-”

“No, I need to see this trooper. You go, I know you’re more than capable.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll leave you to it, Supreme Leader Ren.” 

Kylo glanced up, expecting a mocking smile but the General was making a move to leave. There was no fight or argument to be had between them, something  Kylo had not expected. But he was grateful. He didn’t have the strength to test his abilities against the General’s. He watched his back until Hux left, and wondered how he’d managed to hide his connection to the Force so well. Kylo had to keep Hux as an ally, at least until he knew more. 

For now, though, he sat in the throne and let his mind wander across the Force. It felt... different. Free. Like his reach was no longer held back. He felt the Force like he once had as a child, able to wander and stretch far and wide. The shackles Snoke had wrapped around him were gone and without them,  Kylo had never felt stronger.

* * *

Deep in the unknown regions of space, Finn woke up in a room with the warm sun shining directly in his face through an open window without any  transparisteel . He groaned and pushed himself up to his knees, observing the room. 

He had been placed on a large, comfortable bed. There was wooden furniture to store clothes and belongings, and a door led to a small adjoined refresher. It was not the worst place he’d found himself in. Outside was a lush green world full of bird calls and rustling leaves. A jungle perhaps. It was warm enough to be a tropical area, with tall rock spires and towering trees. The view was beautiful but that didn’t distract Finn from the fact that he was far from Ilum and his friends.

He hoped they had made it out alive with Rey, even if Finn had been captured in the meantime. He could escape again. He had to.

Finn looked at the door and tried to unlock it with the Force, poking and prodding in the hopes that it would swish open. It did but only because it had not been locked to begin with. Finn peeked into the hallway. Empty.

“You can do this. Come on, Finn,” he encouraged himself as he stepped outside his room. “Find a ship and escape. If Poe can do it, so can-”

Finn stopped short as he came by an open doorway that led into a far larger room. The walls and floor were made of black and grey stone and the ceiling made of glass, angled into a point in the center. Vines and leaves cascaded down the walls, crawling through gaps in the roof. He could see chambers and hallways spanning off from here, all in the same ancient style of architecture. Behind him, it was all modern and reminded him of the First Order. A strange clash but perhaps this place needed sprucing up for functionality.

That wasn’t what made him falter. 

Lord Ren was waiting for him on a stone throne, at the end of the room. His masked face raised up to greet him.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said softly. “It’s only the two of us now.”

Finn nervously walked into the chamber. “Where’s Snoke?”

“Dead. His corpse was thrown in the ocean beyond this island. You don’t need to be afraid anymore, Finn. You’re safe here.” Ren beckoned Finn closer. “I will show you the ways of the Dark Side myself. I will teach you everything there is to know. You’ll be my apprentice.”

“And if I say no?”

Ren shrugged. “It’s your decision but before you make it, you should know- the Resistance was not successful. I have some grave news to bring you, Finn.” 

Ren reached up to unclasp his helmet. His right eye was heavily bandaged and he moved stiffly. When he set the helmet down in his lap, he looked up at Finn with a heavy heart.

“Rey is dead. Snoke killed her. There was nothing that could be done for her-”

Finn stumbled back. “No! No, she can’t be! No... Why didn’t you save her?”

“Skywalker prevented it. He was too busy trying to kill me.” Ren extended his hand. “I can show you the truth if you don’t believe me.”

Finn stared at his hand and then up to his face. With a stiff nod, Finn took his hand. He saw what Ren wanted him to see. He felt Luke’s lightsaber clash with Ren’s and he flinched when it carved across Ren’s face. Luke left him to die alone, either from blood loss or the fires which consumed the sky. 

When Finn opened his eyes, he knew the Resistance had failed. Poe had been up there. They were all gone now. Whoever was left alive would not be coming for him. Finn was completely alone.

“I can’t replace what you’ve lost, Finn,” Ren muttered quietly, still holding the ex-trooper’s hand. “But you are not alone. Let me help you. I can help you be strong; strong enough so that you never have to be weak and defenceless again. You’ll be able to save everyone you love but for that, you need to be my apprentice.”

What other choice did Finn really have? He’d given up everything to save Rey and now, she was dead. Just like all the others. The few people who’d ever given Finn a chance, a second look, were gone and they were never coming back. In that moment, Finn was certain he’d never feel such pain again. It was impossible for anything to feel worse than this.

“I don’t want to be a soldier again,” Finn replied.

“You won’t be. Here, you and I are as far from the First Order as possible. I’ll keep you safe.” Ren squeezed his hand pleadingly. “Join me.”

“Okay... I’ll be your apprentice, Lord Ren,” Finn accepted. 

Ren smiled up at him. “I’m happy to hear that, Finn.” He let his hand drop and got to his feet slowly. “Come, let me show you around your new home, so you can meet your new family.”

Ren placed his hand on  Finn’s shoulder and led him deeper into the  Sith Temple. 

Unbeknownst to them, a motion was set forward by the Dark Side of the Force far away in the furthest reaches of the galaxy. A darkness was rising from the slumber of a long-gone era, one that carried across the stars the promise of an eternal threat.

**-END of BOOK ONE-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the first part of this long rewrite! I will take a short break before I upload the next book. I am currently finishing the fifth novel, which is technically part of the next trilogy after this one, so there is plenty of content for everyone!  
> Subscribe or follow me on tumblr @topwizzynum, or email me at vanemis11010@gmail.com
> 
> Translations are welcome, just let me know first! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! There will be many more.
> 
> If you'd like to chat or leave comments, please do so! You can also join me on tumblr @topwizzynum or vanemis11010@gmail.com


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